


These Broken and Misguided Things

by Rose235b



Series: Barely Getting By [1]
Category: X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men Evolution
Genre: A long ride, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brotherhood Feels, Doesn't help the bi community but whoops, Dysfunctional Family, Erik is a Crappy Father, F/M, Family Feels, Mystique is a devil not a woman, POV Alternating, Pietro is a horny bi teenager, Slow Burn, Teen Romance, Teenage Parents, The Brotherhood is a fam, Whoops is it a long lost family member fic of course it is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2018-09-26 17:40:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 37
Words: 97,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9913760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose235b/pseuds/Rose235b
Summary: Violette ran away from her abusive step father at the age of ten and since then, she's been leading the life of a young, homeless thief, until one day, she's been given a great offer by a charming woman. Join the fight for mutants' rights in exchange for food and a house? Count her in! Even if it meant she was one of the bad guys.





	1. Prelude: What We Need We'll Never Have

Pietro liked his life the way it was, thank you very much. He and Wanda would go to school and then afterward they'd play with their friend, Evan. Pietro really liked Evan, he cared about him almost as much as he cared about his sister. He was good at basketball and even let Wanda braid his hair into cornrows, something Pietro would never do, no matter how much he loved her. That was one of the things that made him admire Evan, along with his ability to drink a gallon of milk in one sitting without getting sick.

Sometimes when Wanda would get really bored the boys would cave in and play house with her. Evan, of course, would play Wanda's husband, because it would be disgusting to the twins if they had to marry each other, so Pietro was often stuck with being the uncle to Wanda's two dolls, Tommy and Billy. It was a rather small family they had but it was still fun for Pietro whenever Wanda got mad at Evan for not doing one of his husband duties, like change their kids' diapers or bring her flowers. Pietro has never really seen his father doing anything like that because their mother was long gone, but he doubted he'd ever do that anyway.

So one day they were playing basketball, Pietro against both Wanda and Evan – he lost the coin toss on who got to take Wanda – and he managed to pass Evan and was heading for Wanda when he heard her yelling.

"Pietro, you're running too fast!" And after a second, he did notice that everything he passed seemed more blurry than before. Still, he couldn't miss his chance, so he charged, passing Wanda and heading straight to the net. He threw the ball and scored, turning around to proclaim his victory, when he saw that both Evan and Wanda were staring blankly beneath his feet.

Pietro followed suit, seeing the molten asphalt trail he left behind.

That was the day Pietro's life changed completely.


	2. I: The New Beginning

She remembered some things from back when her father was still alive, most of them hazy and unclear. But there was one memory she could go back to and feel as if it happened only yesterday.

They were in a park. Her mother's beautiful, blonde locks were constantly bouncing with every step she took her father's hand around his wife's waist. Violette was held in her mother's arms, watching the world around her with interest. Her father took her from her mother and she was mesmerized by the way the sun reflected in his green eyes. His smile was enormous while he spoke to her in French.

"How are you liking the park so far, baby _?_ "

She must have been around two and a half at the time because she answered his question without a moment of doubt in perfect French.

"I love it here, daddy."

It was one of the last times she saw Videl Jeoffroi Girard. He died a week later in a car crash.

Her mother was devastated. That much she remembered.

They moved to New Mexico and her mom met Daniel and they got married and a year after her father's death, her mother gave birth to her brother.

Daniel hated her. And he hated her brother. And the fact that mom was pretty.

She remembered the nights she spent in the room she shared with her brother crying, while her mother screamed for help. The cheap beer Daniel reeked of. Darlene's black eyes and bruised ribs.

For years, her stepfather limited himself to only hateful glares and drunken slurs. But when he deemed her 'old enough' he started to hit her. She was afraid he'd do the same to Jamie, so she took it. When her tenth birthday came, the only thing she wished for was to disappear.

When her stepfather raised his hand to hit her that night, she vanished before his and her mother's eyes. Then, she appeared levitating near the chandelier.

She knew about the levitating part. She flew to the top of a tree instead of climbing it months earlier. She randomly started to stop midair while jumping. She got used to that part. She never disappeared before.

Daniel threw a book at her and then turned to her mother, screaming at her for giving birth to a freaking demon, of all things. Then, he ran to the kitchen to get a knife.

Violette remembered her mother's face at that moment. It haunted her dreams for years.

Darlene's curly blonde hair was greasy and unkempt. Her eyes were sunken and bloodshot, her skin a sick shade of yellow. Although her body seemed to be so weak it would break in half at any given moment, her voice was strong and unwavering.

"Go to your room. Now _._ "

Nodding, she landed on her knees and after getting to her feet ran upstairs.

They talked about it before. In hushed voices, making sure Daniel was at work and her brother wasn't listening.

'Go to your room' meant get out. It meant don't come back. It meant free yourself.

Her younger brother was sitting in darkness, hugging his teddy bear. She shut the door behind herself. He looked up at her, his blue eyes wet with tears.

"What happe-"

"Shush" She put her finger on her mouth, breathing heavily. They stayed like that, silent and unmoving, staring into each other's eyes until she heard Daniel's screams. "Oh no."

She bolted towards the wardrobe, taking out her backpack and putting some of her clothes in it. She only had another pair of jeans and couple of shirts, so she still had a lot of space left. She picked up the photos she kept taped to the bottom of the drawer and shoved them inside with some of the money her mom hid under her mattress.

Her brother sniffed.

"What are you doing?" He got up from his bed, his teddy held tightly in his hand.

She didn't answer, just kept digging through her drawer for a torch.

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know" She successfully found it and put it in the backpack. "But I'm not coming back."

She heard him whimper while she zipped her jacket. She knew what question was gonna come next.

"Are you taking me with you?"  
Her mother told her not to answer. To just let it hang in the air, that it will be enough for him.

He swallowed and sniffed, taking a step closer.

"Why?"

She took a deep breath.

"Mom will be able to take a better care of you without me around. And I'll be better off out of here. I can take care of myself" She put on her shoes and turned around, walking up to him. He was a good head smaller than her. She bit the inside of her cheek. She couldn't just disappear without telling him something as important as that. "Something happened. Turns out I'm… different. I'll have to manage."  
He stood on his tiptoes and wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her, dragging her down towards the floor.

"Take Ted with you" He let go of her and gave her his bear. "He will keep you company."

She nodded, her throat closed up and her cheeks getting wetter with every passing second. She put him in her backpack, zipped it up and ran towards the window. She heard Daniel's heavy steps on the staircase.

" _Je t'aime._ "

"What?"

She forgot. His father forbid Darlene from teaching him French.

"Hide in the closet" She choked out and climbed on the windowsill, before slowly gliding towards the ground. Violette landed on her feet and took off.

' _I'll never see Jamie again.'_

She left the Madrox household without looking back, just like her mother asked her to.

* * *

She took a bus to Albuquerque. Then a couple of trains to Houston. Then another one, to New Orleans.

She didn't remember much of her life in the city, but she remembered one thing. The feeling of safety.

She wasn't the only child on the streets. She met a couple of other unusual individuals during the years she spent there. One of them stuck out the most.

He was the best thief in New Orleans. Fast and agile, known as Démon Yeux Rouges. Demon's Red Eyes. Some of the more fearful said he was sent by Satan himself, to scare and rob humans. They believed Lucifer could see through his eyes, and that was why they were this unique red-on-black. He was described as a small figure, with eyes that glowed in the dark and haunted the dreams of small children.

In reality, he was a boy, one not much older than her at that. He had shaggy, brown hair that he always ran his hands through and clothes that always seemed to be dirty, although like all of the kids he had a couple of spare shirts. As the eldest of them, he set the rules.

After a couple of months, he disappeared off the streets. A petite, black-haired girl took his place as the judge, lawyer, and executioner in one. But they still heard stories about him every now and again.

* * *

Violette spent three years in New Orleans, begging for food and stealing from unsuspecting tourists. She tried not to get too attached to the other kids – some of them woke up one day and went for a quick round of pickpocketing and never again showed up in the Jackson Square or the alleys they slept in. She gave most of her clothes to some of the younger girls, while she received new (for her) ones from some of the older girls. Feeling like it hurt her pride, she gave some of her money to the older girls so they could get more new clothes, not wanting to just take from them. And although DYR's (as she called him) number one rule said _first and foremost, you take care of yourself_ , his second rule said _if you don't need or want it, give it to someone who does_. That's how the clothes exchanges worked. She almost never used English during that time in her life, seeing as some of the homeless kids of French Quarter spoke only French. She tasted alcohol and cigarettes, the latter of which stuck to her. She came up with a fake name, too scared to introduce herself to anyone with her real one, fearing that somehow the word would get to her family. That's how from Violette Genevieve Girard-Madrox she became Gina Gerard. It was more American but still resembled her birth name.

* * *

She met Mystique near the St. Louis Cathedral. Violette was invisible and about to stick her hand into the woman's pocket to take out her wallet, a move she practiced throughout the years when she grabbed her wrist and turned around.

 _Found you_ she told her, smirking.

The things Mystique told her made sense. She found a weird comfort in the fact that she could label herself as a mutant. She knew what she was. And when the woman took her in, Violette was happy to have a place where she could leave her things and be sure they'll still be there when she came back.

Although she missed Middle School, Mystique made sure she caught up to her peers in the first year she spent with her. The fact that she was a pretty good student before she ran off helped her. She got rid of her accent. In September, Violette Girard started her freshman year at Bayville High.

* * *

She met Todd Tolansky underneath the bleachers during the second day of school, while trying to find a good place to have a smoke to calm her nerves. He was already there, sitting on a metal railing, trying to light up the cigarette he held in his mouth. She tossed him her lighter. The next day when she passed him in the hallway, he gave her a nod of recognition.

* * *

She was sent to the principal's office for the first time in the second week of school.

Although Mystique offered to get her some 'nicer' things she refused, knowing it would hurt her pride to take too much from her. She already gave her food and a roof over her head. So she stuck to thrift shops. She was wearing at least two sizes bigger jeans than needed with a couple of minor holes and a tank top.

Some girl made a comment about it. She punched her in the face.

Mystique yelled at her big time for it.

Violette was labeled the aggressive dyke by her classmates after the incident. She rolled her eyes at the things they said about her, just like Mystique told her to.

* * *

Through the years, Violette got rid of a lot of things. Some of her photos were ruined by the time and weather, all of her old clothes and her blanket were given to other kids, while her torch broke one night to her disappointment. But there were three things she always made sure were in perfect state.

One was a photo of her father and her, their matching hair and eyes making no room for doubts from who she got her looks. Another one, also a photo, showed a small boy around five, her brother Jamie. They looked almost nothing alike, his brown hair and bright blue eyes contrasting with her dark blonde strands and dark green orbs. They had the same ears, tan skin, and nose though, and if someone looked hard enough, they could find more similarities.

The last thing she held onto throughout the years was Ted. Although his white fur turned to a more of light grey, he was still completely intact.

* * *

Mystique sat her down at the end of the summer vacation between her freshman and sophomore year and started to talk about what she expected of her. She didn't try to fool Violette into thinking they were the good guys. Actually, Violette herself thought that in order to survive, you couldn't play fair.

The woman showed her the whole 'X-Men' gang, which wasn't very large, to be honest, with only two kids her age, one back home for the summer vacation and two adults, one in a wheelchair. And after that, she waited for a response.

"So, you all have some snarky codenames, right?" She chuckled, putting her feet on the coffee table. "Give me an hour and I'll have mine ready."

Mystique smirked and left, probably for her bedroom.

Violette got up and walked over to a mirror she hanged on the wall, looking into her reflection's eyes.

' _I'll be stuck with it. I can't blow it, or I'll be the butt of too many jokes.'_

She thought about her powers. She could turn invisible and fly. Like a ghost.

' _Ghost… Nah, sounds dumb_.'

She sighed, flying back onto the couch.

' _Okay, synonyms for ghost… Phantom? Not really. Spirit? Yeah, spirit… Nah, still idiotic. Maybe I should go for something more personal?'_

She about finding some cheeky way to slip her name in.

' _Violette… Sucks. What would I call myself, Violin? Violet? Just stupid. Gen? Gina, the friendly ghost? What was_ that _for god's sake? Okay, let's think about my last name. Girard means…_ What _does it mean?'_

She turned on the computer in the corner of the room and double clicked the Internet Explorer icon.

' _Now, only ten minutes till it's ready to go!'_

After it finally loaded, she googled the meaning of her surname.

' _Hard spear… Not really something I can work with.'_

Then she searched for the meaning of her names.

' _Violet… Like I didn't know that. And Genevieve is… White wave. Hm… Wave…But still, it's not related to my powers at all. Okay, what about my family's names…James is…Replace. No. Videl is…Life. Good to know but, no. And Darlene is…Tenderly loved. Ew.'_

She turned off the machine and started to hit her head on the desk repeatedly.

' _Back to the ghost thing, then. Spirit's fine, but it's not really… Badass or even remotely cool. I need more options, English's so du- Wait.'_

Violette facepalmed.

' _French. It'll be personal and fitting. French for ghost is…Fantôme. Spectre. Got it!'_

" _Spectre_."

"What?"

Mystique must have come down for a snack because she had a pack of chips in her hands.

"Spectre. That's what you should call me. Spectre."

"Okay then, Spectre" The woman smirked, placing her hand on her hip, chewing the chips. "Do you have any ideas about your costume yet?"

Violette chose a simple sleeveless crop top with a small cleavage, white except for the shoulder straps and the neckline. She paired it with black, form-fitting pants and baby blue, laced up boots that reached her knees. She looked at herself in the mirror in her room and pursed her lips. Something was off.

She asked Mystique for some kind of a mask, explaining, that she just looked like she was about to go out partying instead of kicking butts. The simple, black harlequin mask did wonders.

"One more thing" Mystique gave her a white utility belt. Violette put it on and smiled at her reflection. She looked badass. The woman walked over to her, putting her hands on her arms and resting her chin on the girl's shoulder. "How do you feel?"

"Ready" She answered, biting the inside of her cheek.

' _But for what?'_

She got her answer.

It was a simple task: sneak in, get some information and, if it came to it, kick some ass.

Violette got to the cliff above the institute in the morning, binoculars in her hand. She looked closely at the fence, memorizing where the camera's surrounding the mansion wouldn't possibly see her. Knowing life, they were probably watching for heat signatures, too, and it would be sad if she got busted before even stepping a foot inside. She walked down and found a nice place to hide until the nightfall.

When the night came, she left her hiding spot in one of the surrounding trees and turned invisible, quickly flying over the fence.

' _Piece of cake. Now, make sure not to fall into any of the traps they surely have.'_

She glided over the line of trees, making sure not to accidentally kick any branches, not knowing whether or not they could detect that shit.

' _Better safe than sorry.'_

She reached the mansion, silently congratulating herself on getting this far without raising an alarm.

She flew in through an open window, happy that it led her to a corridor. If she would have flown into a room, she'd have to wait for someone to open the door for her. Freaky things sometimes happened, but doors opening themselves on their own accord was just suspicious.

She flew around, trying to find anything useful. The fact that that big of a mansion could be so empty and lifeless creeped her out.

After a while, she felt as if something was poking her head from the inside. She froze, eyes wide, trying really hard not to panic. She felt a slight jab and suddenly she lost control. She became visible.

A camera stared right at her, the alarm started to wail.

' _Okay, plan B.'_

She kicked the camera and turned back around, ready to fly at full speed back, but then she noticed the bars that came out of nowhere over every other window. She wasn't foolish enough to believe that one was just left alone.

She heard footsteps.

' _I really should have thought about plan C.'_

She flew upwards, lying flat against the guy, Cyclops, ran past her.

' _Okay, you've spent years on streets. You should know some sneaky tricks. Use them, goddammit.'_

Violette looked around and noticed the ventilation system. She slowly made her way towards the crate and took a strong hold of it, resting her feet on both sides of it. She took a deep breath and pulled with everything she had. It got a bit loose.

' _Okay, let's see what I've got here.'_

She started to rummage through the pockets in her belt and pulled out a little screwdriver.

' _Better than nothing.'_

She put it into a small opening between the crate and the ceiling and kicked it.

Thankfully she caught the crate before it fell to the floor, but she lost the screwdriver. Violette flew in and put the crate back to its place with a few good pulls. She turned around and froze, hearing a low hum.

' _Lasers.'_

She pulled out a small torch and directed the light towards the wall. She saw small silver thingies on it.

' _Must be coming out of them.'_

She studied them for a moment, memorizing the combination they were positioned in.

' _Up. Up. Down. Down. Down. Up.'_

She turned off the torch and took another deep breath, before saying a quick prayer and closing her eyes. She rolled under two of them, curled up into a ball and flew above three, before rolling under another one. She opened her eyes, relieved.

' _Thought I died for a moment there._ '

She was happy to see another crate, this one leading out of the building.

' _What I got: a lot of security. If it wasn't for the fact that I'm pretty small, I'd be dead by now.'_

She kicked the crate, Happy to feel the chilly evening air on her face.

' _I'm either a wimp or a badass. There's no in-between with this one.'_

Just when she thought she'd escaped without bumping into any of the X-Men, The air turned heavy and wet.

' _Shit.'_

A lightning struck out of nowhere and a heavy rain started to pour out of dark grey clouds that weren't there only a minute earlier.

' _Storm, was it? Now_ that's _a cool name.'_

Violette shook her head, deciding to dwell on the fact that her enemies seemed to find the best codenames they could later.

"Forecast said nothing about rain, you know. Too bad I forgot my umbrella" She yelled over the rain, bouncing off the edge and smoothly flying between the lightning bolts Storm brought down in front of her. The woman smirked, hitting one of the trees on Violette's right, making it fall. She wasn't expecting that and her instinct took a hold of her, making her stop in midair so she wouldn't get squished by it. Cyclops, who she didn't notice until now, struck her with his beam, making her groan in pain and fall to the ground.

' _Enough.'_

She sat up straight, shocked to hear a voice in her head. She tried to pinpoint the accent.

A wheelchair stopped in front of her, making her look up right into the eyes of Charles Xavier.

' _Busted does not even cover it.'_

Xavier gave her a small smile, but she was pretty sure he wasn't as happy as he appeared to be.

"It's not every day that a young mutant bust into our institute without raising an alarm" British. Now she could hear it clearly.

"Well, it's not every day I do this kinda thing" She started to look around to try to find an escape route, thankful for the fact that her eyes were covered by the mask. No need for them to know what she was thinking about. "Now, could you _please_ get the _hell_ out of my head? It's bad enough you did something to my powers."

"I apologize, I was simply trying to find out more about the person who decided to break into my home" He offered her a hand. "I'd call it more of an accident."

She felt as if her head was finally free, no probing or funny feelings. She could feel her powers unlock. Violette ignored the outstretched hand and got up on her own, dusting her pants off.

"Yeah, well, can happen to anyone."

"Miss Girard" She froze when she heard her name on his lips. Every fiber in her body told her to run till she still could, or he'd find out more than just her name. "I'd-"

"To be honest" She put on a brave face and put one hand on her hip, the other's fingers resting just below her collarbone. "I prefer Spectre."

She vanished and quickly flew upwards at her top speed, before making a sharp turn and going back to the boarding house. She felt another gentle probe and then a massive headache.

' _Too many powers for one evening.'_

She slowed down, until she practically came to a stop in front of the Brotherhood of Bayville's Boarding House sign, before collapsing in the front yard. She felt herself turn visible again, before losing consciousness.

* * *

She woke up in her bed, her costume replaced by a loose t-shirt and sweatpants. Mystique was standing in the doorway, a frown on her face.

They looked at each other in silence, while Violette slowly sat up. She tried to think of anything useful but her mind was… Blank.

"I don't remember anything" Mystique didn't say anything, just stared at her, anger evident in her eyes. "Except for the fact that he started to dig through my brain when I barely stepped a foot inside. I don't know what happened, but it seems that I don't react well to people messing up my head."

The woman still kept quiet, just glaring at her, before turning around and walking out of the room.


	3. I: Our Get Along CD

Everything was normal - or at least as normal as it could be - for the only member of the Brotherhood, who ironically was a female. She mostly left the X-geeks alone, and it wasn't like they tried to become her friends or anything. She wouldn't say that they kicked her butt, but they sure left a mark on her pride.

A few weeks before midterms, she was sitting in her first-period class, Biology, alone, when a new kid showed up. After that punch people weren't really keen on hanging out with her, so the only vacant seat was the one next to her. She sighed, looking up at the fresh meat.

He wasn't one of the tallest, but clearly a couple inches taller than her. He had black, long-ish hair and seemed uncertain and lost. He looked like the kind of guy whose first friend on the new ground will be the person he sits with.

' _Great, just what I needed.'_

"Class, we've got a new student, Kurt Wagner, make sure he feels at home, now get your books out and open them at page 394" The teacher, Mrs. Lubowsky, came in and got that out without even taking a breath.

Kurt looked around the room and slowly made his way to the only seat left.

"Um, hi" He said to her, swallowing.

She hummed in response, taking out her notebook. She found a blank page and started to doodle.

She could practically _hear_ how stressed he was. She sighed, shaking her head. What came over her to even _think_ about doing such a thing?

' _Pity.'_

"Violette" She glanced up at him. He looked confused. "That's my name, just so you know, seeing as you didn't even ask. Props for the lost stare though – girls like that shit."

"I-I wasn't, I mean, I-"

There it was. An accent.

He didn't look like a guy from South Africa or Australia, and he certainly didn't sound Canadian. He was sickeningly pale and had elfish features.

"You're from Europe, eh? But which country?"

"Germany" He got out, lost. She seriously wasn't the best when it came to socializing.

"Ahh, Germany" She smiled, thinking something over. She made sure that no one was eavesdropping and let her own accent loose. "Well, nice to meet you, _copain_. We don't see much European kids round here."

He blinked a couple of times.

"You're from France?"

"My father was, but I was born in New Orleans" She dropped the accent. "Doesn't stop everyone from mispronouncing my last name though. Just like they do with yours."

"Miss Girard" She mouthed ' _I told you so_ ' to the kid and turned her full attention to the teacher. "I know I told you to make sure Mr. Wagner feels at home, but you two can continue your nice little chat after class. Now, I want you to listen to me. Understood?"

"Course, ma'am" She mock-saluted and smirked, knowing the woman will only roll her eyes and go back to her lesson. And she did just that.

"So, _how_ do you pronounce your last name?"

" _Girard_."

"Oh, without the 'd'."

"Yep, without the 'd'."

Later that day she noticed that she and Kurt shared a few more classes – Health, English, and History. She was thankful that during all of those classes, everyone had their own, separate desks.

* * *

She was a bit confused when Mystique came into the Boarding House that evening, with Todd of all people. After the fiasco that her first mission was, Mystique kind of… Moved out. She was still paying the bills, but it seemed like she lost interest in her.

"Whatcha doin' here, dawgette?"

"I _live_ here" She looked up from her book, raising one of her eyebrows. "So I guess I could ask you the same question."

"'Stique here told me to kick some X-geek asses, yo" He plopped into an armchair on her right. After a year of being kind of acquaintances, she got used to his foul smell enough to not gag. "'N' I'm bout to go there 'n' do just that."

"Wish you luck. Oh, and stop calling me 'dawgette'. It's atrocious."

* * *

The next day she sat down at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal when he jumped down the stairs, looking a bit shaken.

"So, what happened?" She asked, chewing.

"They're fuckin' crazy" Todd jumped onto the chair, shaking his head, his eyes wide. "I'm never goin' back there, yo."

"That bad, huh?" Violette smirked, putting another spoonful into her mouth. They stayed silent while they both ate their breakfast – Violette cereal, Todd flies. "You know, this one time I got there, I barely came back and passed out on the front lawn."

" _What_?!" He immediately sat up straight. "'N' ya didn't tell me?"

"I _wished you luck_. I thought it was obvious."

" _What_ was supposed to be obvious, yo? That I'm gonna die?" He snarled. "I swear, I'm gonna get that German puppet."

"German?" She thought of the new kid. "Pale skin? Blue eyes? Black hair?"

"More like fuzzy 'n' blue with a tail, yo" Todd shook his head. "Demon and all that. But definitely German. Why're ya askin'?"  
"The new kid I sit with in Bio is German. You think it's him?" She got up and put her bowl in the sink, deciding to take care of the dishes after school.

"I'd have to take a look at him, dawgette" He smirked. "But I'll see what I can do. Don't want your new boyfriend on the opposite team, yo?"

"First of all, _wow,_ I thought everyone thought I played for the other team" She turned around, crossing her arms over her chest. "Second, I just want to know if I'll have to be careful in Bio. You know, who knows when a fuzzy blue demon might feel like stabbing someone and then eating their soul? _No one._ But seriously. I need to know if I'll have to sit with some X-geek or not."

* * *

She tried really hard not to look at him. She pulled Todd over to an abandoned hallway right next to the main entrance just after the beginning of the first period, knowing she hasn't seen him come in and that like all of those X-losers, he wouldn't miss school. And just as Todd was about to whine, he practically ran through the door.

"Yeah, that's him" The boy coughed. "Even if I wasn't sure after seein' his face, the smell of sulfur he leaves behind is kinda hard to miss, yo."

"Like you're the one to talk" She rolled her eyes, hiding her own cough. She trained her senses to work better than typical human's out on the streets and right now, she was regretting it. "God, he reeks of it."

"Oh, ya don't say?"

"Shut up."

* * *

"So, heard you fit in fine" She said to Kurt, not looking up from her textbook. "You know, considering how _blue_ you were last night."

She heard his chair squeak when he straightened up, freezing with his pen still in his hand. She noticed how awkwardly he held it as if he couldn't separate his fin-

Maybe the fur wasn't the only thing he covered up.

She could see the fear in his eyes, see his muscles tense. She was playing dirty, the kid probably had no idea how she knew and whether the news was about to spread.

"Don't worry, Smurf, I'm the only one he told about your furry problem" She quickly waved her hand in front of his face to get his attention and then put it under the table near his thigh, making it invisible. "And if you ever need a quick escape, I can always help you disappear."

Violette winked, chuckling at his blush.

* * *

When Mystique found another mutant just after midterms, Violette was too busy to even notice when he moved in. Actually, the morning after he arrived, she burst into the bathroom, as usual, knowing Todd rarely used it. It was typical for the doors to jam themselves shut in the Boarding House, so she didn't think much of the fact that she had to run into them at full speed. Although the door opened, she tripped on the doorstep and fell flat onto her stomach, cursing.

She turned onto her back and froze. About two feet from her was standing a very wet, very _naked_ guy with a towel in his hands and a blush on his cheeks. She quickly closed her eyes, feeling her whole face heathen.

"S-sorry" She choked out, turning invisible and flying out, knowing it was the quickest escape.

She flew down the stairs and stopped in the kitchen, happy to find Todd. She turned visible right in front of him, which caused him to yell and drop the glass he was carrying.

"What the hell is a tall, naked teenage guy doing in our bathroom" She said, getting straight to the point.

"So ya've met Lance" He chuckled. "Great first impression, dontcha think, yo?"

She felt her cheeks turn bright red.

"Shut up!" She smacked his arm, hissing.

"Boss-lady dropped him off last night" He picked up the bigger shards of glass and threw them in the general direction of the bin. "Called him 'Avalanche' and then disappeared, yo. He crashed in the room next to ya" He smiled, raising an eyebrow. "Enjoyed the view, didntcha?"

"Just-Just… Ugh!"

She stormed off, her face still resembling a tomato. She walked back to her room, deciding to skip the morning shower altogether, instead changing her clothes and making sure she had everything she needed in her backpack. She walked downstairs with her backpack on her shoulder and opened the front door. She froze, her mouth agape.

 _Of course_ , Lance had a car. _A jeep_ of all things. And _of course,_ Todd would be riding in it. And waving her over, yelling at her to get in.

"Fuck my life" She rolled her eyes and walked over, getting into the passenger seat.

Lance cleared his throat and turned on the radio, backing the jeep out of the driveway. After a minute or two, he started to play with it, groaning.

"Um" He started, blushing. "Violette, right? There're some CDs in the glove compartment. Can you pop one in?"

"Sure" She felt her own cheeks turn bright red, as she opened the compartment. It was mostly filled with trash – coupons, loose change and some pens and sheets of paper – but after rummaging a little through it, she found the CDs.

"Blondie?" She smirked, biting the inside of her cheek to prevent laughing. "And is that the Cure there? And Beastie Boys? Stuck in the eighties, much?"

She saw his blush deepen, as he murmured something.

"What was that?"

"I have _In Utero_ somewhere. Modern enough?"

She chuckled, choosing Cure's _Pornography_ and putting it in.

"For the record" She leaned against the door, closing her eyes at the hypnotic sound of _One Hundred Years_. "I _love_ the eighties."

Lance smiled, his blush slowly disappearing.

Maybe the new guy wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

"You tell me that you made some preppy school girl sneak into principal's office and try to steal the answers to midterms?" Violette raised her eyebrow, chuckling. "And then you brought the whole place down? Yeah, sure."

"Ya kiddin, dawg" Todd rolled his eyes. "No fuckin' way ya did that, yo."

"You can ask her if you don't believe me, losers" He shrugged, chuckling. "She joined this redhead over there."

Lance pointed the X-geeks table, where a petite brown haired girl sat, munching on a salad. She was surely a freshman – Violette would have heard if anyone new showed up in her grade, and there was no way that girl was older than her.

"My, my, Lance" She smirked, playing with her fork. "You don't think you're too _young_ for dating children? How old is she? Twelve?"

"Fifteen in January, not that that's any of your business" He growled, almost crushing his milk.

"Gee, sensitive, much?" She chuckled, stealing one of Todd's fries.

"Oi, get ya own food, woman!" Todd smacked her hand away and shoved the whole tray into his mouth.

"You know what they say."

"Stolen calories don't count?"

"The grass is always greener on the other side, yours look tastier than mine. Are you calling me fat?"

* * *

She and Lance got along perfectly.

After the disaster that was their first meeting, they managed to avoid awkward situations. Plus, she found that she had much in common with him. Although he was two years older, they liked the same music and found that the moments when he sat in their armchair and strummed his guitar mindlessly while she read her books made them feel… _content_.

Weird.

A week later, Mystique stormed into the house with a new member

"Will you be so kind and tell me, why we're called the _Brother_ hood if half of us are _girls_?"

"Who knows?"

 _Rogue_ – as they were told to call her – was a bit taller than her and had a permanent scowl etched on her face.

She was definitely going to be the mascot.

* * *

Rogue took her seat in the front of the jeep, but Violette had no idea how to tell her that, so she just sat next to Todd, flipping him off when he started to tease her about it.

At lunch the newbie ventured off, so she was free to say exactly what she thought about her.

"She sat in my seat and when I walked up to the car she just scowled at me – like, what the hell, we've never even exchanged our names and she already thinks she's better than me!" Violette crushed the juice box she held in her hand, making a small apple flavored fountain.

"Dawgette, calm down, yo" Todd chuckled. "No need to ruin good juice. Rouge here is jus' a typical goth girl, yo."

"And who the hell tells people to call them _Rouge_. It's so pretentious!"

"God, would you just stop for one minute-"

"And this stupid white hair she's got – God, who even does that?"

"Girls are weird, dawg. She doesn't even hear ya complaining, yo"

"And god, I'm so sick of her _already_!"

"Sounds like you're just pissed that now you're not the only girl in the Brotherhood."

" _What did you just say?_ "

"Dawg, ya don't say shit like that to a girl. Even _I_ know that."

"Lance, do you want my boot to end up so far up your ass that you're gonna spit out my shoelaces?"

"I don't think she's kiddin', yo."

"Whatever" Lance got up and dusted off his jacket before walking towards his next class.

"God, someone's in the angsty teen mood" Violette popped a grape into her mouth.

"Maybe some kitty scratched him on his way here, yo" Todd smirked, nodding towards the X-geeks. She could clearly see Lance passing by it and hitting Summers' tray with his fist, making the food fly, but not without giving the youngest of them a longing look.

"No, please, no, why?" Violette covered her face with her hands. "I need a cigarette. She's _fourteen_ for God's sake!"


	4. I: Just Like Feelings, People Come And Go

Just after bringing Rogue, Mystique came in with another mutant.

"She's on a roll or something" Violette said to Todd, watching as the guy tried to walk through their front doors. After a second, she leaned towards the boy and whispered. "Is he really wearing _dungarees_?"

"Still stuck in the 90s, I think, yo."

"So… _dude_ " Violette walked over to the boy who finally squeezed through. "What's your name?"

"I'm Fred" Fred smiled, and small dimples appeared in his cheeks. He reminded her of Winnie the Pooh, somehow.

"Cool, I'm Violette and that one over there is Todd" She pointed at the crouching teen, whose tongue was chasing a cockroach. "There's also Lance, but don't worry about not meeting him right away. He's not really pleasant to be around this week" Rogue walked out of the living room with a frown and a book in her hand. "And that's Rogue, the sunshine of the house. Ain't that right?"  
"Fuck off."

"There are two unoccupied rooms upstairs, choose whichever you like and feel free to leave your toothbrush in the bathroom. Hope you'll enjoy your stay in Villa de Brotherhood."

* * *

Everything was kind of normal, up until Pietro Maximoff moved in.

Pietro used his powers all the time.

It wasn't really surprising. They all knew he was just a kid when his mutation emerged and after years of doing everything in a second, he was used to it. He brushed his teeth in two seconds, read a book in two minutes, even sew every once in a while. He had time for everything and was easily bored and distracted, but there was one thing he did in normal speed.

Basketball.

Pietro could easily wipe the floor with any opponent he'd face, but he preferred not to. It wasn't really easy to just turn off a part of him, but he trained. Not to be able to go faster, but to be able to slow down.

In the first week he lived at the Boarding House, he bolted a basketball hoop to one of the outer walls and spend hours practicing and after a couple of days, Mystique found someone to make them a small court in the backyard.

"It's ridiculous" Lance rolled his eyes. "This guy just moves in and suddenly she gets him a freaking basketball court."

"Are you really that blind?" Violette chuckled. "This guy has to have some _connections_ to _her_ boss."

"Boss-lady got a boss?" Todd smirked.

"'Course she does" The girl looked out the window to see Pietro running around the court, dribbling. " _Everyone_ does. Now, if you'll excuse me."

She only recently found a joy in drawing and there was something simply magical in the way Pietro moved, especially if you knew he could do this so much quicker. She grabbed a pencil and her sketchbook, hoping to do the homework for her art class.

She sat under a tree, watching him for a moment, before deciding that she should draw him in mid-air, preparing to dunk. She carefully sketched his body, making sure not to go too wild on the proportions, knowing they were a nightmare.

"What are you doing?"

She looked up, not really surprised to see Pietro standing over her with a raised eyebrow and the ball in his hands.

"Homework" She went back to sketching. "You know that one crazy teacher? The one who talks to walls instead of students? Well, she teaches me art. Said we had to capture movement" She looked him in the eyes, smirking. "There's no way I can go wrong with drawing a speedster, right?"

He huffed and turned back around, but she could swear she saw a small smile on his face.

"Try to catch my better side, V. Oh wait, all of my sides are _perfect_."

* * *

Her lunch routine was so repetitive, Violette didn't even have to look at where she was going these days – Rouge would ditch them for one of her books after Pietro threw another pick up line at her – it wasn't that he was really interested, just that he was _Pietro_ – after which they would walk to cafeteria. Fred would get as much food as he could on his tray. Lance would buy himself a sandwich and then kick (or _rock_ , depending on his mood) the soda machine until he got a can. She'd get a salad and then harass Lance until he got her a can of Mountain Dew, just to piss him off since he hated the drink. Pietro, on the other hand, would get almost as much as Fred – the difference was that his tray didn't look nearly as obscene. When they'd get to their table, Todd would go out looking for his lunch. Lance would finish first, then kick his chair back and take a nap – something Violette thought was at the same time impressive and extremely stupid, as any other person would probably fall and split their head on the table or hit the floor. Pietro would be next, leaving them with ' _Later, losers'_ and his trademark smirk. She'd eventually finish her salad and start to steal Fred's fries, making sure to pinpoint the exact moment his eyes would focus on them and then go back to another dish. When his tray would be finally empty, Violette would snap her fingers twice in front of Lance's face, effectively waking him up. Then they'd all go to their respective classes.

After weeks of this routine, she almost walked into Lance when he stopped in the middle of the hallway.

"What are you looking at, Summers?" She could tell it was going to take a while.

"Where's Kurt?"

Freddy smirked, waving his hand around before crossing his arms to show exactly how interested he was in Nightcrawler's whereabouts.

"Yeah, like we'd tell you." Lance took his hand out of his pocket and rested his elbow on Fred's crossed arms.

Summers took a hold of Lance's jacket and, deaf to Grey's pleads, pushed him into the nearest lockers.

"I said, _where is he_?"

"Get off of me!"

"What have you done with Kurt?"

Fred took a hold of Summers' collar and raised him into the air.

"Get lost, slim."

"Put him down!" Demanded Grey.

"Back off, _Red_ " Violette squared her shoulders, feeling about ready to pounce on the X-Geek. The two started to stare each other down, to the school body's chant of ' _Fight! Fight! Fight!'_.

"What is going on here?"

She winced, hearing Mystique's voice, but knowing that the principal was on their side, she stood up straighter and smirked.

"Summers' gone crazy and attacked us, Miss Darkholme" She said, feeling Grey shoot her pissed off glares.

"Is that so?" Mystique raised her eyebrow, motioning for Summers and Grey to follow her. "You two, in my office, _now_."

They sent the X-geeks satisfied smirks and Violette waved at them for good measure.

"They effectively ruined my mood for math" She sighed, fishing for a lone cigarette she could've sworn she had in her jeans, somewhere. "See you later, boys."

She started to walk towards the exit, thinking about whether or not Todd might still be out and with a working lighter, when she stopped dead in her tracks.

She could've sworn she's seen Kurt in his X-Man gear or something more like a ghost.

Violette shook her head, massaging her temple with her finger.

"I definitely need that cigarette."

* * *

When Rogue left, Violette found herself oddly saddened by it. They were never close in any way, but the fact that she left them without a goodbye made them all feel a little betrayed.

* * *

The Brotherhood was surprisingly in sync with each other in the mornings, especially after the whole Rogue fiasco.

Every day, Pietro would be the first to wake up – he claimed that he only needed five hours of sleep to fully regenerate – and after an hour or two on the court, he'd put a kettle on the stove and make his way upstairs, knocking on Violette's door, before going to the bathroom. After he'd get out of the shower, he'd run into her room and shake her for a couple of seconds, before running to his room.

Violette would always wake up by then, stretching and walking down to the kitchen. She'd make two coffees and sit down at the table, waiting for a couple of minutes. Freddy would walk into the room then and gladly accept the cup of coffee, before walking to the fridge and taking out things to make the best pancakes she'd ever tasted.

After a while, Pietro would join them, talking at the speed of light, as energized as ever, a sleepy Lance dragging his body behind the speedster. He'd pour himself a cup of coffee and sit down, yawning all the time and scratching his unshaven cheek. Violette would make another cup of coffee and walk upstairs, opening the door to Todd's room, telling him to wake up, and putting the coffee onto his bedside table, before making her way to the bathroom. Then, she'd walk back downstairs to find the table stocked with maple syrup, chocolate, and jelly and take her plate from Fred, smiling at him.

They'd eat mostly in silence, Pietro the only one of them awake enough to blab about anything. After they were done, she'd put the dishes into the sink, while Lance and Todd went upstairs to get ready and Pietro and Fred would talk about everything, mostly make fun of some of the X-geeks. After Lance and Todd would come down, Pietro would start to run around, collecting things he needed or throwing stuff back to his room.

They'd all wait for him in the jeep, murmuring to themselves about the fact that as the fastest of them he should be ready much earlier than any of them.

When Pietro would finally jump into the back, Lance would back out of their driveway, while Violette picked the music, often ignoring the radio completely and just fishing another CD from the glove compartment.

* * *

"I can't fucking believe Mystique forced me to come here" Violette groaned, rubbing her head. "I mean, I _know_ how to survive. _Hell_ , we all do. What's the fucking point?"

"Woah, calm down, yo" Todd leaned back in the seat next to her. The bus hit another hole in the road and they all bounced off the seats. Violette felt as if she was going to die. "'s not _that_ bad."

"It is even worse" She curled up into a ball. "Just kill me now."

"Toad, just leave her alone" Pietro looked slightly uncomfortable when he looked back at her. "Believe me. Don't even breathe on her."  
"And why is that?" Lance also turned towards them and rolled his eyes. "She's just bitching about it. It's not like she's the only one who has to do this."

"Just shut up, Lance" Snapped Pietro. His voice turned a bit softer when he once again addressed Violette. "You need anything?"

"A sex change" She buried her face in the worn out leather covering the seat. "And some painkillers."

Pietro reached over the row between the seats and fished a small bottle of pills out of sleeping Freddy's pocket.

"Here" He passed them to her along with his bottle of water before turning back to the front of the bus.

"What does she need a sex change for?"

"I'm not kidding, Lance. Shut up."

At last, when they arrived, they were greeted by a middle-aged, buff guy who looked like he was not going to listen to any excuses a teenaged girl could give him.

"Fuck. Me."

"Maybe not here, V."

"Pietro, please, just don't."

"Right, sorry" He sighed. "The guys are all clueless."

"I've lived with you lot for _months_ , Pietro" Violette laughed, before wincing. "Ow, shouldn't have done that. Anyway, males are just dumb in general."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

After unpacking, they had to do the first challenge. Climb a rope, glide down and then swim across the river in a boat.

"Nope, I'm done, push me into the river and just let me drown in it" She begged the boys but they didn't comply.

Instead, they forced her to take part in this mass suicide the guy wanted them to commit.

Of course, she didn't even climb more than a meter, before tumbling down onto the ground with a groan. It was rather pathetic, but to be honest, she didn't care.

"You need help?"

"Fuck off."

"I'm serious" Kurt offered her a hand. She took it, sitting up. "Something's wrong?"

"No, I'm perfectly fine" She forced a small smile onto her face. Fuck this whole enemy thing, at the moment he was nicer to her than Lance and Todd by far.

Of course, Lance had to ruin everything by cheating. And then Summers also cheated, causing them all to argue. Which made the stupid Sergeant Hawk or something force them to do push-ups.

She was ready to bite the heads off of all three.

And now they were fucked because they had to climb some stupid mountain. Fan-fucking-tastic.

Thank God they had Fred. Lance, Pietro, and Violette just tied their ropes to him and let him elevate them up.

She felt almost alright when she finally stood upright, good two-thirds of the mountain below them.

The feeling disappeared as soon as they stepped into an abandoned mine.

"It's an awful idea."

"Shut up, it's better than nothing."

"There's a reason why it's abandoned" She groaned, kicking a pebble in front of her. "It will probably cave in and we'll all die."

"How optimistic" Lance once again snapped at her.

"Lance-"

"If you tell me to shut up, Pietro, I swear to God-"

"We're here!"

They looked up to see that the exit was blocked. Lance threw himself at Todd and they both hit the wall of the mine.

"You idiot!"  
"I had a feeling ya could, ya know, avalanche it loose a bit, yo" Todd chuckled. Lance let go of him.

"Alright, stand back."

"What do you think you're doing?" Violette tugged at his arm. "We're underground, you imbecile. You're going to bury us here."

"Come on, Violette, don't tell me you don't want to beat those X-geeks" Said Fred.

"Which part of ' _we're underground_ ' you _don't_ understand?"

Lance completely ignored her and started to use his powers. Of course, he did not only destroy the blockage, but he also made another one by destroying the mine altogether.

When the dust fell down and she coughed it all out of her lungs, she stood up.

"Well, I don't normally like to say it, but this time, I just have to. I told you so."

For once, Lance stayed silent.

They spent the next ten minutes trying to think of a way out ( _Lance, I_ really _can't fly today_ ) and arguing about it before they heard Rouge.

"Help us out, yo!" Yelled Todd, luckily forgetting about the Brotherhood's stupid pride. "Don't leave us here for a stupid flag!"

And that's how Violette found herself in the arms of an X-geek.

"Are you sure you're still okay?" Kurt asked her, a cheeky smile on his face.

"Shut up you ass and just port us away" She was done with guys thinking they were the smartest shits around.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"And why is that?" She raised her eyebrow, about ready to punch him.

"Teleporting with me can cause nausea and some major motion sickness. It's not advised to people in your condition."

She could feel her face warm up and redden.

_Oh, he's not about to-_

"What condition?"

"A possible concussion."

She shut up and complied when he told her to get onto his back so he could pull them both up.

When the sun hit her eyes and Kurt slowly set her down, she felt wind running through her hair. A second later, the smell of sulfur hit her nose.

She caught up with what was going on half a second later.

"Stupid testosterone-driven apes" She murmured, getting up. Summers and Lance climbed out of the hole, surprisingly not trying to strangle each other.

" _X-Men, Professor X is endangered, and so is Mystique_ "

Violette looked up to see the X-geeks jet flying above them.

"Awesome" Violette rolled her eyes, running to the top along with the rest of the teens.

"Come on guys. Let's, like, just do a group shot and go" Kitty magically pulled a camera out of nowhere and set it on a rock, which was conveniently placed in just the right place for them all to fit in the picture.

* * *

When they retrieved their things from the camp, Violette pulled her costume out of her bag and looked around. The girls disappeared somewhere and the guys seemed to not even notice she was still there when they started to pull off their clothes. She turned red, her voice turning a bit weak.

"Umm, guys, where's the bathroom or something?"

She tried to not think about the fact that she was surrounded by a couple of rather attractive guys in their underwear and instead tried to focus on the image of Todd. It wasn't that he was revolting, but she thought of him as kind of a younger brother of sorts.

Stupid hormones.

Todd really helped her keep her cool when a very shirtless Summers pointed towards one of the doors. Being distracted equaled bad performance on the field and it wasn't like she could afford that.

Either way, even that didn't stop the X-girls from figuring out what was on her mind in a second.

And okay, she didn't really like Grey and Rogue kind of betrayed them all, but Kitty never really personally offended her, so it was not like she could just snap at her out of the blue.

"Like, let's be real here. Our boys are _hot_."

"Oi, it's not like The B-hood's _that_ bad" Rogue shrugged, pulling the cat-suit all of the X-geeks wore on. "I mean, half of it."

She couldn't really deny that. Freddy was sweet, but he wasn't an Adonis – and no matter how Todd looked, he ate bugs for lunch. It was kind of a no-no in the girl world.

"Girls, let's focus on our task" Jean put on her kind of a mask on and untied her hair.

"You're no fun" Kitty rolled her eyes. "So, how much did you see?"

Violette chose to cover her blush by pulling off her shirt.

"Not _that_ much" She put on her crop top, thanking gods she put on a white bra. She didn't need the whole world to see what color were her undergarments. "Just, _swimsuit_ much."

"Oh, alright. So, tell me – boxers or briefs?"

"Which one" She tried to seem cool by acting like she was totally comfortable talking about it, actually, that she was so unmoved by it she could change her clothes in a flying jet while talking about it.

"All of them."

Violette tripped, totally losing her cool façade.

"Like, I _know_ with Evan. He, like, has no shame whatsoever, but I don't even live with Lance or Pietro-"

"Boxers, briefs. In that order" Said Rogue, rolling her eyes.

"And, like, I'm really curious about Scott and Kurt."

Violette tried to erase the image from her mind, but too late, there it was – guys in their underwear.

"Um, boxers again" She turned even redder.

Boxers were safe – everything was hanging loose, you couldn't even imagine what could be there. But every other type of a guy's underwear was revealing, _awfully_ revealing. She was used to Pietro because the guy's pants alone revealed enough. And he slept naked. The rest of the B-Hood guys wore boxers, and either way, she's seen Lance's junk once. She knew enough, nothing new.

But she rarely talked to the X-guys and seeing them in so little felt almost as if she was violating their privacy in some way.

Anyway, it's not like she could _not answer_ Kitty's question.

"And Kurt's a boxer briefs guy."

Kitty giggled, Jean was a bit red in the face, Rogue seemed unfazed by it all. For once, Violette didn't feel like they were enemies, but just normal girls. It almost scared her, how unfamiliar it all was.

* * *

Spectre took a deep breath, before opening her eyes. She felt her body turn invisible, as she silently flew over to the Juggernaut. The only thing she could hear was her own heartbeat, as she turned herself visible right in his face before once again disappearing and flying off.

She couldn't believe she was one of the _distractions_ , but if it meant Toad would be perfectly fine while he took off the helmet, she would take it over unclasping any of the latches.

All in all, it was a rather uneventful battle – no one-liners, all of them working not only together, but also surprisingly in sync, it all seemed very unreal.

"Come on. Let's go before you're all invited to a slumber party."

To be honest, Violette felt almost disappointed that they weren't.

* * *

"Watch out!"

After living in the Boarding House for so long, Violette knew when to take cover. She ducked out of the way, frowning when she saw Todd tumble down the stairs.

"You okay?" She asked, leaning over his twitching body.

"Ouch, yo" He sighed, the hair falling over his eyes flying up for a second. "Can't see shit, dawgette."

She looked over his tiny frame, shaking her head. His fringe grew out so much it was practically completely blocking his sight. Sighing, she took a hold of his arm and pulled him up.

"Come on" She said, leading him back upstairs. "We've got to do something before you go completely blind."

She kicked the door to the bathroom open, pulling out the stool she used while painting her toenails and forcing Todd to sit down on it.

"Whatcha think ya doin'?" He sounded panicked as he brushed the hair off his face. She ignored him, rummaging through the drawers, before finally pulling out her scissors. "No, yo."

"I cut my younger brother's hair. I know what I'm doing."

She walked behind him, taking the nearest towel and putting it on the boy's shoulders.

"Ya have a brother?"

She swallowed audibly, looking into his eyes via the mirror.

"Yeah" She nodded, looking down. He understood that she didn't want to talk about that. "I should wet your hair, but I have no idea how to do it without soaking you."

He rolled his eyes, before standing up and walking over to the sink. He bowed down enough to put his head under the tap and turned on the cold water.

"Easy-peasy, yo" He sat back down.

Violette took her comb – she'll have to buy a new one – and started to trim Todd's hair, trying hard not to make him look ridiculous.

It was a rather odd scene. There she was, cutting Todd's hair, just like she did for her brother and like her mother did for her years earlier.

After she was done, Todd stood up and looked himself over in the mirror, running his hand through his hair.

"Thanks" He nodded, smiling.

That was how she became the Brotherhood's hairdresser. It wasn't really much – Fred's hairstyle was simple and one he could groom himself without it becoming an awful mistake, while Pietro would probably cut off both of his legs before he let her get anywhere near his hair, but Lance and Todd came to her when their hair became too long for their comfort. With Mystique they had to save money on everything, so it was obvious that they couldn't afford fancy hairdressers. And although it was more of a necessity, she cherished those mostly quiet moments, the silence broke only by their hushed voices and dull noises coming from downstairs.

It was much more domestic than things she normally did with the boys. They never had any kind of a game night, the only activity they did together was basketball every once in a while. On the weekends, they just sat around the living room, each of them doing their own thing, occasionally saying something.

They weren't really conventional, but they did okay.

* * *

"You seem even more hyper than usual" She greeted Kurt when he sat next to her in Biology. "You wanna talk about it?"

She could practically see how he struggled to figure out whether he should tell her or not.

"You know what, I don't wanna know."

* * *

Turns out, she really didn't want to.

"Ya mean, boss lady's got a son and it's the fuzzball?" Todd looked like he was ready to faint.

"Yup. And we've got to stop her before she goes out and ruins everything" Pietro played with his hair nervously. "So, let's go."

Fighting with Kurt seemed rather pointless, but she complied anyway. Mystique's boss kept them all fed and with a roof over their heads, she had to if she didn't want him to kick her out.

Still, it didn't stop her from whispering that she was sorry when she kicked Kurt off the building skeleton he ported onto after attaching Todd to a huge hook.

Luckily, they weren't really that high and he landed on a pile of sand, which resulted in only knocking him out.


	5. I: Dazed And Confused With A Side Of Hot Mess

They all met Mystique's boss.

He told them about his plan. About superior mutants and battles to see who was more deserving of being one.

Violette wasn't really convinced the plan was going to work, but she went along with it.

* * *

For once, instead of her, it was Toad who was bitching about everything.

"'s not fair, dawg" He groaned from his place in the backseat.

"You just shouldn't have taken on a fucking psychic and telekinetic one" Pietro chuckled. "It's not our fault you wanted to 'prove yourself' by beating one of the best they have."

"Hold on, guys" Lance cut in, smirking. "Let's give their ride a little rock, shall we?"

"I think that if you say 'rock' enough times, they'll just quit themselves."

"Very funny. Now seriously, hold on."

Avalanche rammed the van with his jeep, almost throwing the X-Men off the road, which seemed to piss Daniels off. Spectre thanked god that he suddenly had the worst aim ever and instead of hitting their tires or her head, hit the jeep's lights.

Avalanche caused another earthquake, cutting the van's road off and forcing it to turn. She could hear the front of the car hit Blob before she even saw them.

Lance hit the brakes and got up, chuckling.

"Let's party."

Violette exchanged knowing looks with Quicksilver.

_'Better than a rock pun.'_

Fred took a hold of the van and overturned it, sending the X-geeks flying onto the beach, and Lance buried them in the sand.

"Well, that didn't take too long, yo" Todd jumped out of the jeep, smirking.

Spectre could hear the sound of Kurt's porting right behind them.

"Duck!"

Before any of them could, Avalanche and Toad were tackled by Rogue and Kurt.

"Of course. I, of all people, have to sit this one out. Although Todd's already lost" She threw her hands in the air. "Okay, fuck you all. I'll stay in the car."

"Not so fast!"

She felt all of her strength disappear while the world around her turned black.

* * *

Violette groaned and slowly sat up, rubbing her head.

' _I really need a cigarette.'_

She opened her eyes and winced when the sunlight hit her retina.

"Good, you're awake. Now can you tell us, what just happened?"

Violette covered her ears.

"Alright Kitty, please don't shout" She turned to the remaining X-geeks. "Just, give me a second."

They didn't really feel like waiting, so instead, they started to harass Toad. And she was perfectly fine with that. She felt as if she had the worst hangover ever. She didn't even have the strength to protests when Kurt stuffed her into the backseat of their van.

She finally felt a bit more like herself when he turned on the engine.

"We've got to get to the institute, like, fast" Kitty checked herself over in the rear-view mirror.

"Aren't you a little young to be driving?" Violette found herself saying the first thing that came to her head. "Last I checked, you were still fifteen."

"I'm still the best driver out of all of us" Kurt shrugged. "It's not like you're in a state to take over."

He had a point, so she left it alone.

"Why would Magneto even do this stuff?" Evan asked her, clearly ignoring Todd who sat on his other side. "Shouldn't he want more people on his side?"

"Don't ask me" She shrugged. "I saw faults in this plan even before we went off to find you guys."

* * *

They parked outside the Institute and went in.

"Man, you guys live in a sty, yo" Todd laughed, jumping around.

"Storm?" Kitty started to yell, distressed.

"She's not here" They turned to see Mystique standing on the banister, smirking. "Can I take a message?"

"What are you here for, mother?" Kurt spat the last word out, not very comfortable with saying it.

Violette could see Mystique's mask melt for a second before it was back in place.

"Simple truth" She jumped off so that they could clearly see her disdain. "Nobody disregards me. Especially not Magneto, after all I've done for him. So, I'm paying him a visit" She crossed her arms over her chest. "We can go together, or I can go alone."

"You won't be alone."

"Wow, Wolverine's really got some timing" She whispered to Todd, who nodded in return.

"If Magneto's got our friends" Wolvie destroyed the already disfigured doors for a more dramatic effect. "Then we're going after him."

"Good" Mystique smiled. "I know the man, so I'm the one calling the shots."

"Then get your own ride" He huffed. "X-Men, let's go."

"Fine" She rolled her eyes. "But I expect to be consulted."

"Is she always like that?" Kitty asked her, raising her impeccable eyebrow.

"Yes" Violette nodded, sighing.

Wolvie guided them to the hangar, the X-geeks pulling on their suits on the way.

"Welcome to the first test flight of the X-Men's Velocity" He showed them a helicopter-esk jet, stepping inside. "Made without any use of metal, perfect for the occasion."

Violette followed Kitty inside, trying hard not to look amazed by it all. It was significantly smaller than the Blackbird, but it was still one of the coolest things she's ever seen.

She sat behind Kurt and made sure her seat-belt was on properly good twenty times before they took off. She congratulated herself on that when they finally did – Velocity was much faster than the jet she was kind of used too, pushing her into her seat with indescribable force.

"We're flying in some cheap plastic chopper" Todd gripped the armrests hard enough for his knuckles to turn white. "We're going to die!"

Violette almost scolded him for being so over dramatic, but she was scared shitless herself.

After a while of flying far too fast for her liking, she heard Wolverine whisper something similar to Summers' name.

Then, she felt something hit her side of the jet.

They tumbled down, crashing into the Asteroid M as Mystique called it. She once again thanked God for checking her seat-belts so many times. When they finally stopped, she burst out of the Velocity with the rest, still a bit shook after the blast.

Her teammates smirked and Fred charged, ready to run them over. Shadowcat phased them through the ground.

It was weird. She could still feel everything around her and everything they went through but it was as if she wasn't there.

When they emerged, she could see Kurt teleport behind Blob, who ran into a wall. The blue boy gave them a thumbs up.

"Spyke and I'll take care of Avalanche" Kitty turned to Rogue. "You and Spectre bring down Pietro."

Violette smirked and pointed towards the white blur that was Quicksilver, before flying over to him.

"Oi, speedy!" She yelled towards him, happy to see him slow down enough to let her see his face. "Betcha you can't catch me!"

He laughed, turning towards her. She turned invisible and made a tiny step to the side at the last second, feeling the wind caused by him ran through her hair.

"Not fair!"

She turned visible for a second.

"Who said I play fair?"

They played that game of cat and mouse for a while, and when Violette saw Rogue nod, she cut through the circle Pietro was running in around her and caught him around the waist, catching him off guard for a second.

"Too slow." She raised him off the ground a couple of inches and smirked when Rogue touched his face for long enough so that his body went limp in her arms. "If you didn't know, I waited for a long time to say that" She slowly put him on the ground and turned to the girl, smiling.

She flew towards the X-Men, while Rogue sped around.

"X-Men, to the Blackbird!" She heard Wolvie yell, before he passed, making his way towards the Blackbird. She quickly went with the rest of the teens, glad that they were leaving the asteroid so fast. She sat on the ground between Nightcrawler's and Rogue's seats. Although there were a couple of seats left at the back of the jet, she saw none of her teammates were moving there and it wasn't like she wanted to stay there, alone. Fred and Lance were talking among themselves and Todd was sitting almost right next to her, while Pietro-

Wait.

Where was he?

She looked around, praying that someone, anyone picked him up from the ground and brought him on board.

"Guys" She looked at the rest of the Brotherhood. "Where is-"

She felt that they were falling, closed her eyes and grabbed the closest thing to her, screaming. Although she could fly, it wouldn't help her much if she was squished by a ton of metal. They seemed to fall for hours before the Blackbird finally turned upright, but they were still going, the jet sliding on the ice before finally coming to a stop. Violette slowly opened her eyes, breathing heavily. She looked up at her hands, blushing when she saw that the thing she was holding so tightly was Kurt's forearm. She slowly pried her hands off him, noticing his cheeks were slightly violet.

_'Huh.'_

Just then she heard a bang and jumped, startled. She could feel wave after a wave of force rocking the jet. She glanced at Lance and was surprised to see him as confused as the rest. They all turned to the cockpit window, seeing that the Sanctuary, as Magneto called it, exploded. A red beam shot out from the earth, slowly destroying the rest of the asteroid.

"Scott and his brother are still out there" She heard Kitty whisper and swallowed. It seemed that if the boys – _or men? Who knew, it just got weird beyond weird now_ – wouldn't destroy it, it will fall down on them.

Taking deep breaths, she did something she never thought she would – she prayed that Scott would succeed. Those short seconds felt like years, the weight of their lives on the Summers' shoulders. When the asteroid finally exploded, she sighed in relief.

She felt the rest rush out onto the snow, but she just sat there, staring at the sky where the rock was only moments earlier. She could feel the panic, hopelessness, and guilt finally get to her, as her breathing quickened.

"Come on" She heard Kurt's voice as he took her arms in his hands and raised her off the floor. "Let's get you out on the fresh air."

She let him guide her, her heart slowing down when she felt the cold wind on her face. She must have looked like a deer caught in the headlights, wide-eyed and frozen. Kurt sat her down on the snow, crouching down next to her and offering her a smile.

"Pietro" She chocked out. "I left him there. I helped Rogue zap him but then I just left him. I left him and it all exploded."

Just then two metallic spheres flew over them.

"I think he's in one of them" He nodded towards them, rubbing her arm. "Don't worry, you don't have to feel guilty, Spectre."

"Still" She sighed, pulling off her mask and looking down at her boots. "It's as if you, I don't know, took out Spyke and then just left him there, not caring whether or not something happened to him" She turned her head over her shoulder, gazing at her teammates and smiled a small, sad smile. "It's not just that we're in the B-hood together, I just… They're my boys, you know? No matter how hard they'll try to convince you otherwise, we kinda look after each other and that was just a dick move" She looked back at him, her smile widening. She took a deep breath. "Thank you. I know you don't really have to look after me, especially seeing as we're on the opposite sides of the fence."

"My parents taught me you shouldn't leave a schöne Mädchen all alone in a situation like that."

Did he just?

"You mean during a panic attack or just after a plane crash?" Violette chuckled and decided to seize the moment "Oh, und danke. Thank god for those German lessons back in Bayville High, or I'd just completely miss that compliment."

Kurt's cheeks once again turned violet. He looks kind of… Cute.

"Why did you join the Brotherhood in the first place?" He suddenly asked. "You're not really the B-hood type."

"Oh, I'm just the B-hood type, I'm just very good at hiding it" She winked, smiling. She thought about giving him the real answer for a moment and just decided to go with it. "I owe Mystique. And I did think about leaving them a couple of times but…"

"But?"

"The little one reminds me of someone" She turned away, looking at Todd.

"You and Toad?"

"Nah, not that kind of someone" She laughed. "My brother."

"You have a brother?" Kurt sat down next to her. "I thought that-"

"That all of us were just lonely orphans? Well, you met Pietro's dad just half an hour ago, nice fella, that one" Was it really not that long ago? Violette looked right into his pale yellow eyes. "It's much more complicated than that" She weighed her options. She could just leave it at that, or tell him her team's backstories. To be honest, she was the only one who's weak spot was the past. The rest of her team were immune to the self-pity blows their enemies would use, all of them used to those after years of bullying. And she honestly felt as if Kurt wasn't asking to find their weaknesses, but just out of pure curiosity. "Freddy here was seven when his parents died in a car crash. His grandfather took him in, but when Fred was ten he was convicted of breaking and entering, theft and sexual assault. His foster parents were okay, though. Lance was left by his parents in front of a store. They told him to wait for them for a minute but they never came back. He was four" She could feel the blue elf tense. She swallowed. "Todd was sent to an orphanage at the age of six after his father was put in jail for murder. Killed his wife right before the little guy's eyes. He says it screwed him in the head and that's the only reason why he still hangs with us" She gave a small chuckle to hide the fact that her voice was cracking. "And me? My dad died. My mom remarried and had my little brother. My stepfather turned out to be an asshole. Beat me and my mom up. I was ten when my powers manifested and he- I was so sure he was going to kill me" She felt her cheeks turn wet. She hasn't really cried about it for a couple of years. "I was just so scared, so I stupidly listened to my mother when she told me to run away. And now, now I don't even know if she's still- If he's still- If any one them are still alive."

She buried her face in her knees and let the tears fall, while she quietly shook from sobs. She felt his uncertainty as he slowly wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She ignored the part of her brain that told her that the boys won't let her forget it and just let herself be comforted by him.

"I just feel so bad" She slipped into French, forgetting about her cover. If any of them wanted to listen, they could. None of them would know what she was saying, anyway. "I left my Jamie all alone. And now I did the same to Pietro. How will they ever be able to look into my eyes, knowing I left them?"

"Shh, du weinst nicht. Es ist deine Schuld nicht" He murmured in German. It was funny how although they spoke two completely different languages and she was the only one who knew only a bit of the other, they still understood each other.

She could feel the X-geeks' prying eyes on her, every single one of them wanting to know exactly what was going on. She felt another hand on her shoulder, this one with five instead of three fingers.

"Thanks for making her cry, elf" It was Todd. "Totally not cool, yo" Although his words said otherwise, she could read his eyes perfectly. The look he was sending Kurt was more of a 'thanks, now we'll handle her', than one of resentment. "C'mon, V, dontcha let this looser bring ya down. We've still gotta find a way to get home, dawgette."

The Prof wheeled over to them, his calm smile still on his face.

"Seeing as you have no mean of transportation, I'd like to offer you a way back to Bayville. What do you all say about joining us in the Blackbird?"

Todd turned towards Lance, who looked around at his teammates and then at the icy field they were on.

"Sure" He said, climbing back on board after sending Todd a long, concerned look. She understood her boys' worry completely. She wasn't really one for breakdowns.

Fred came up to them and picked her up, ignoring her protests. He gave her a gentle look and she immediately stopped trashing, letting him make sure she was physically okay. Todd jumped onto his shoulders, giving her a small smile while they climbed the ramp. Lance waited for them just around the corner and led them to the small foldout seats in the back.

The only thing she remembered from the ride back was that Kurt turned his head every once in a while with a concerned stare and that Lance and Fred were talking in hushed voices, while she and Todd were slowly dozing off. Lance's face turned only a little green during the flight, but she'd seen much worse from him over the couple of months they knew each other. Wolverine, instead of landing like a normal human being, hovered over the trees near the Boarding House. It was around three in the morning, so they weren't really concerned about people seeing them. Wolvie let the ramp down and chuckled. Fred looked down, and seeing as it wasn't really that big of a deal for him, jumped down, causing a mini-earthquake, which wasn't that uncommon in the neighborhood. Todd jumped onto the nearest tree, slowly making his way down. Lance looked down at her. She nodded and grabbed his waist. He mock-saluted and they were off.

Flying with someone was really a challenge – it wasn't that she couldn't handle the flying thing, it had more to do with the fact that she had to support not only her weight but the weight of the passenger, too. But gliding down off the jet was easy – the only thing she had to do was slow down the fall enough to not damage Lance or herself. Just when they were a couple of feet below the jet, she heard the X-geeks fly off towards their precious institute.

She let go off Lance when his boots were two feet above the ground and instead of landing and walking the rest of the way, she flew ahead of them, opening the door and sitting down on the couch's armrest, her favorite place to sit during the team meetings they had every once in a while. That night there may not be one, but she knew they were all going to sit there. Sit and wait for him.

When he finally arrived, Lance was the one who got up and walked over to him. Instead of apologizing, he just stared.

Sometimes she thought that Lance was born to be a leader. He didn't even have to say anything – he could tell them everything with just a glare.

She couldn't take the silence.

She got up and went over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him. She wanted to make sure he was there, feel his body against her, smell his cologne. She thought she'll never get to do that. The most physical contact – not counting the fight - they had till now was a high-five. Hell, she almost never touched any of the boys unless she had to and it wasn't like they were the touchy-feely type, either.

Everyone was silent. She could swear she was the only one breathing at that moment.

Pietro slowly wrapped his arms around her, probably sending confused glances towards the rest of the boys.

"I thought you were still there" Violette got out, her voice raspy from crying. "I'm so sorry for just leaving you there."

"Nah, you know me, V" The confidence in his voice was obvious. "Recovered faster than anyone expected. In time to make a quick escape via a pod."

She squeezed him one more time and then turned around, going upstairs to her room.

* * *

"What was that?" Pietro asked his friends, plopping down into the armchair. "I know I'm irresistible but that was just weird."

"I don't know" Lance sighed, resting his weight against the wall. He was too anxious to sit. "I think the whole 'leaving you behind' thing struck a chord in her" He looked back at the stairs. "She broke down in front of the elf."

"She broke down?" He ran a hand through his silver hair. "I think I've never even seen her upset. She's kinda… Angry, yes, but mostly, you know, emotionless."

"We still don't know what happened to her before she moved here, dawg" Todd shrugged. "Maybe it hit too close to home, yo?"

"I think that we should just let her be, you know?" Fred finally voiced his opinion, before getting off the couch. "Maybe it's a girl thing. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm beat. Night guys."

They murmured something back, but none of them were really focusing on him at that moment.

"You think she's gonna need… Help?" Pietro turned to Lance, biting the inside of his cheek.

"Nah, she can take care of herself" He answered, pushing himself off the wall. "But… Toad, what do you think?"

"She'll be fine, yo" The youngest teen jumped off the couch. "She's gotta be."


	6. I: The Much Needed Change For The Worse

She opened her eyes and winced at the sharp pain in her skull. She's been crying for too long last night and the payback for letting her feelings loose was awful. She hugged Ted closer to her chest. She didn't sleep with him before, but she felt like she needed the comfort it could give her. After six years, Jamie's scent completely left the toy, but it still reminded her of him.

She never knew that something like that would set her off. She felt stupid and thought that she came off as clingy and weak last night.

To be honest, it was the first time she hugged anybody since she ran away. Even when it came to her teammates, she wasn't aware of how close she really got to them.

Shaking her head, she changed into a hoodie and jeans, deciding that she needed loose, warm and comfortable clothes, instead of her usual tops. Either way, it was kind of chilly, despite it being the end of June. It was a Sunday, so she wrapped her hair in a small pigtail and just dragged herself down the stairs. Despite it being almost noon, none of the guys were up. She opened the fridge and took out a yogurt, not really in the mood to eat. When she finished, she took care of the mountain of dirty dishes and scrubbed the kitchen clean, moving onto the living room.

When Lance got out of his room around two, he froze in the entryway to the bathroom, unsure of why exactly Violette was washing the tub.

She looked up at him and blew air onto the loose strand of hair that fell over her face.

"I've got to keep my hands busy at times like this" She explained, going back to scrubbing a spot of slime on the side of the tub. "God, I'm gonna kill Todd."

Lance shrugged and walked over to the sink, blinking at the shiny marble.

"What happened to the kitchen?!" He heard Fred.

"Ya better take a look at the living room, yo!" Yelled Todd.

Lance turned to her, raising his eyebrow.

"I really gotta keep my hands busy."

Lance called a team meeting after all of the boys ate breakfast. When they all sat down, he cleared his throat and started to talk.

"Since Mystique is gone and we have no idea when or even if she'll be coming back" He rubbed the back of his neck. "We have to think about what we're gonna do."

"Whataya mean, dawg?" Todd was practically laying on the couch.

"If we stay here, we have to find a way to pay the bills" Said Pietro, sitting on the armchair. "Unless we rob a freaking bank, we won't be able to keep the house."

"Which means, we need jobs" Violette sighed, shifting on the armrest.

"We have enough dough to last us a couple of months, but sooner or later, we'll run out."

She started to play with her fingers. Her sanctuary was slowly turning into a nightmare. She knew what it meant to starve and live on the streets – she wasn't keen on repeating that experience.

"You think we should drop out?"

They all looked at Lance, curious about his answer to Fred's question.

"No" His voice was certain. "If we all drop out, getting a job will be even harder in the future."

They were all silent, mulling over Lance's words.

After a minute, Pietro turned his gaze to her.

"What happened to you?"

All of the boys looked up, glaring at him.

"What?" He snapped. "Youallwantedtoaskanyway."

She swallowed audibly, tucking the loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"I think…" She took a deep breath. "That you deserve to know after…last night" She sat up straight, lifting her hands to her lips. "I was born in New Orleans. My dad died when I was very little. I don't remember much, just that… I was happy. When it happened, my mom kinda… Broke. We moved to New Mexico. Almost instantly, my mom married this guy, Daniel Madrox. At first, everything was fine. My mom gave birth to a boy, Jamie. I really thought that Daniel loved us, but then… I don't know. He just started to beat my mom up. She always told us it was nothing but I could see you know? She was too scared to leave him, she never even got a job before, how was she going to support two kids and an apartment? So we stayed. When I turned six he started to pick on me, then decided that I'm old enough to beat me up, too. I found out I can fly a couple of weeks before my tenth birthday. On my birthday, when he wanted to hit me, I turned invisible. When he went to the kitchen to get a knife, my mom told me to run. I went to the room I shared with Jamie and started to pack. He asked me what was going on and where I was going. I had no idea. We said goodbye and I flew out the window and to this fucking day I regret it" She pulled her knees up to her chin. "I have no idea what happened to them, whether they got out or not, I don't even know if they're alive" Todd put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. She could honestly say that while Lance was the closest thing she had to a best friend, the youngest member of the Brotherhood was the closest thing to a brother she had right now. "I went back to Louisiana. Lived on the streets of New Orleans for three years, stealing. There's a freaking community of homeless kids in the French Quarter, you know? If one of them finds a good spot to sleep or has enough money for two, they'll share. It's remarkable how giving they are when they have barely enough to live through another day" She bit her lip. "I was too scared to use my real name, afraid that Daniel will find me, so I came up with Gina Gerard. That's how Mystique found me. Took me in, helped me catch up and enrolled me in Bayville as Violette Girard, cut off the Madrox from my name. I have fake papers and all, so no one can link me to them. I owe her big time."

"I don't think she got out" Said Tro, looking at the floor. "I was with my father and Sabertooth was in the other one."

They all avoided each other's gazes, not knowing what to say.

"I think" Said Lance, clearing his throat. "That no matter what, even if we lose this shithole… We should stay together."

She could see right through him. He was worried about Todd and Fred. They all knew Pietro – no matter how attached they became, he could run off to his father at any given moment, even after what he did to him if Magneto only asked him to. Syndrome of an unwanted child, as Lance called it. Their 'fearless leader', no matter how much they laughed at him, at the end of the day, they knew he would be able to take care of himself. Now they knew she knew how to survive on streets. But Todd and Freddy… Fred was a really emotional being. Never had to take care of himself or think about whether or not he'll have food on his table. Todd, on the other hand, was the youngest of them. They knew he would be able to get food and find shelter, but they also knew that kind of life brought more problems than that. Lance had a mean right hook. She could turn invisible and fly off, leaving whatever danger laid ahead behind her. No one in their right mind would attack Fred. Pietro was faster than any bullet and surely faster than a couple of thugs. Todd, on the other hand, couldn't even outrun Duncan Matthews. His jumping and awfully strong tongue were useful, but he was still in the clumsy phase of his teenage years and sometimes tripped over his own feet. She tried not to think about what would happen to him if someone jumped him in some dark alley.

"I agree. Easier to survive if we stick to each other."

The rest of the boys nodded, murmuring their approval.

"Now, let's talk about one thing" Fred looked around. "What the hell happened here?"

"I was bored and needed to keep myself busy" Violette blushed, burring her face in her knees. "The house looked like a freaking pigsty. Someone had to clean it sooner rather than later."

* * *

The next day the elf wanted to talk to her during Health.

It wasn't a bad class. Violette knew all she needed to know, so it wasn't like she had to listen, but she was still pretty active. The teacher tried really hard not to make it awkward, talked about important things and asked them about their opinion on things. Mrs. Smith walked around the class and gave them sheets of paper.

"On one side, you have character traits and other things. I'd like for each of you to choose three things you look for in a partner and write them on the other side."

Violette quickly looked over some of the traits, taking a pencil and crossing out the traits she for sure avoided in people she surrounded herself with, not to say, possible partners. She rubbed her forehead, feeling as if she was about to get a massive headache.

"Hi."

She looked behind her, seeing Kurt's eyes were focused on her instead of his paper.

"Hi?" She raised her eyebrow at him, not sure what he wanted with her. She tried to ignore the buzz in her head.

"About Saturday" He swallowed, looking around and making sure none of their classmates were staring. "Are you okay?"

She bit her tongue before she could snap at him. He was an angel when she broke down and looked like he really cared about her answer.

"Yeah" She nodded. "Pietro came back around five. He's perfectly fine."

"See" He smiled, turning her gaze to his mouth. She hasn't noticed before, but the hologram did nothing to hide his fangs. They looked sharp enough to cut skin. She shivered. "Told you not to worry about him."

"Kurt!" The teacher smiled. "Maybe you'll be kind enough to tell us what you look for in a partner?"

He turned red and Violette tried to cover up the fact that she was laughing at his face with a cough.

"I-I…"

"I see you're not sure yet" Mrs. Smith smirked, turning to her. "Violette, maybe you'll tell us?"

She froze, before quickly looking at her paper.

"Um, I'd like for him to have a sense of humor" She said. "You know, all those strict and serious guys are no fun to be around. I'd also like if he was" She looked down at the paper, panicking and saying the next word that came into her head. "Interesting. He doesn't have to be an Adonis, cause that's unrealistic, but he should attract me with something other guys lack – I don't know, he could be especially good at something or know a lot about other things, or speak a different language or have the biggest collection of autographs in the whole state of New York. And…" She looked up, swallowing. "He should be tolerant. I mean, I board with four… Unique guys. I have to be tolerant, and it would suck if we parted our ways because of differences in our worldviews."

The teacher gave her a smile and nodded. Violette breathed a sigh of relief.

"Kurt" She turned back to the boy sitting behind her. "Do you know by now?"

"She should have a sense of humor, but at the same time, she should be able to know when to stop."

"God knows you can't tell when to stop" She heard someone say. Some of the class laughed.

"And I also think she should be tolerant" Kurt cleared his throat. She could practically hear the rest of the sentence: 'of my blue fur and tail'. "My culture is different from the American culture, so she should be able to accept some of the things I do, just like I accept American holidays and traditions."

It was a good save. She almost congratulated him then and there.

"Great. Now, I want you to sign those papers and pass them to the person in front of you. Senior year, I'll give them to you and you'll tell me whether or not your taste in partners changed."

Violette quickly scribbled the traits she talked about on the paper and signed it. When she received some of the papers from Kurt, she put hers on top and passed them to the girl in front of her. She could feel Kurt was about to say something, but she could once again feel the buzz. She was thankfully saved by the bell before she could snap at him like she mostly did to guys when she felt bad.

She almost ran out, bumping into Lance on her way out.

"Dammit, Violette" He rubbed his arm, while she put her hand on her forehead, cursing. His shoulder wasn't soft at all. "Slow down a bit, what's the rush?"

"None of your business, earthworm" She growled, rubbing her temples and sighing. "Sorry, Lance. I must be coming down with something. My head's killing me."

She knew Lance experienced massive headaches after using his powers for the first couple of weeks after he joined the Brotherhood, but she had her powers since she was a kid and even then she didn't get headaches, more like small painful jabs every once in a while.

"Want aspirin or something? I have a shitload of these stuff in my locker."

"Yeah, thanks" She followed him, biting the inside of her cheek to not scream in pain.

* * *

Violette could feel the familiar buzz coming from within her bones, the one she felt when she was invisible. She looked down at herself, confused as to why she could still see her own body. She looked back up, blinking at the people that weren't there just seconds earlier. At closer inspection, they weren't real people. They were just a blurry, faceless mass surrounding her from every direction. Before she could really panic though, she saw a blue form slowly walking a few feet away from her.

"Kurt!" She ran up to the boy, the buzz still present. "Kurt, hey, wait up!"

The boy completely ignored her, still walking.

"Oi!" She flew over to him, standing right in front of him. "It's not very nice to just ignore a lady now, is it?"

Kurt stopped walking, but he was still ignoring her.

"Come on, it's not funny."

She looked right into his eyes, her own widening when she realized he wasn't looking at her – he was seeing through her.

Violette tried to turn off the buzz, but it did nothing. Although she could still see herself, she must have somehow made herself invisible to everyone else, and now she couldn't turn it off.

"Kurt, you have to at least hear me. I can't turn off my voice for god's sake!"

It was futile. As if she wasn't even there.

It was terrifying. She tried so hard to make herself visible, while Kurt morphed into other people. Freddy. Pietro. Todd. Lance. Her mother. Jamie.

She broke down.

"Jamie, please" He was still young, still so innocent, not even a day older than when she left him. "Please, see me. I'm here, I'm right here, I still exist, for fuck's sake!" She dropped to her knees crying loudly. "Please, frère, me voir."

He was unmoving, he didn't even blink.

"Mon petit frère! S'il vous plaît me voir! "

She shot up from her bed, breathing heavily, the scream still on her lips. She heard her door bang against the wall and a frantic Lance appeared in the doorway, getting to her room even before Pietro. She felt herself tremble when he ran over and hugged her to him.

The rest of the boys also showed up, rubbing the sleep out of their eyes.

"You wanna talk about it?" She heard Lance mumble against her hair.

She shook her head, tightly gripping his tank top. They stayed like this for a minute, before she calmed herself down enough to stop crying. The rest of the Brotherhood boys were long gone by then, leaving the two of them alone. Lance stood up and made his way to the door, scratching his head.

"Thanks" She said, getting back under her covers.

"No problem" He looked behind his shoulder, smiling. "We've got to look after each other, right?"

Only after he walked out, shutting the door behind himself, she realized that this whole time she was invisible. There was no buzz and the only indication that she wasn't visible was the fact that she couldn't see herself. She turned herself visible and gasped, finally feeling the familiar buzz.

Something was very, very wrong.

* * *

She woke up later that day and looked down, squealing when she couldn't see herself. She reached for the buzz, sighing with relief when she was once again visible. She had to talk to…

To whom? Mystique was gone and whenever she was uncertain about her mutation, the woman was the first person Violette went to for advice. And it wasn't like she should just throw her problems at the boys all the time – they had things they had to take care of and it wasn't like she'd just disappear, right?

Right?

The next day was better. She woke up visible. The bad part was that the buzz was still there.

It went on for the next week or so, the buzz a constant when she was visible. But it wasn't the only change.

Staying visible became a problem.

It was just like when her powers first emerged – she couldn't quite control them and she turned invisible while she was scared or stressed, having close to no control over it – except for the fact that being invisible became her status quo. She tried as hard as she could, but during random moments of the day, she just disappeared. She was sure somebody up there loved her, cause it mostly happened when she was alone or nobody really paid any attention to her.


	7. I: This Little Power Of Mine

She and Kurt talked before the Asteroid M, but never to that extent. It wasn't just polite chit-chats like before, but real conversations. They talked about music, their hobbies, differences between German, French and American cultures and when the last week of school began, the new recruits that came to the Xavier Institute.

"For now it's just two girls and a kid, but Professor said a new guy is coming today and a couple more people will join during the summer" Kurt was doodling in his notebook, looking up at her from time to time. Their English teacher decided that it would be a great idea to make them watch Romeo and Juliet made by BBC in the seventies. Violette couldn't stop laughing at Alan Rickman in tights, so she opted for nagging Kurt about things. It seemed that the distraction was welcomed, seeing as he stopped laying on the desk and proclaiming how bored he was every two seconds. "I just hope I won't have to share a room with any of the new guys. I know Scott and Evan are used to my blue self, but I doubt any of the newbies will be comfortable around me for the first few weeks."

She nodded, her mind going to her recent mutation-problems. She was sure Kurt wouldn't just dismiss her concern with the whole visibility issue, but she wasn't sure she wanted to tell him of all people. Yeah, they were kind of friends, but they still were on opposite teams. She wasn't sure she wanted her 'enemy' to know that she somehow couldn't control her powers, cause as much as she wanted to believe that he wouldn't go out and blab it to his teammates, she knew people too well. Humans always loved to use everything they knew to their advantage, even if it meant harming others.

"Are the girls hot? I know for a fact that if you say yes, Pietro's already 'bumped' into one of them and started to work his charm. Even if they didn't leave the mansion since they came in."

He chuckled, shrugging.

"I guess. I think I was too busy covering my ears to really take a look. I never knew girls could scream _that_ loud."

"Ouch" She winced, patting his shoulder comfortingly. "Don't worry, fuzzball. They'll come around. Not every girl's used to guys with that much facial hair before they turn twenty."

"Oh, you're just so funny" Kurt rolled his eyes. "But to be fair, the kid didn't even flinch. He just kind of raised his eyebrows and shrugged."

"Kid, you say? What, the mansion's turning into a nursery?"

"No, not quite that small" He chuckled. The bell rang, signaling the end of the period. They both stood up and started to pack their things, before making their way to their next classes. "He's twelve, I think. He's really shy. If it wasn't for the Professor, I wouldn't even know his name. Other than that, Jamie's pretty normal, you know?"

She froze.

Around twelve. Mutant gene. Jamie.

She shook her head. There had to be tons of boys _his_ age called Jamie, who just happened to be mutants.

Still, she had to ask.

"Jamie who?"

"Madrox, I think."

She gasped, her bag slowly sliding down her shoulder. Violette stopped breathing, while her heart rate increased. Kurt didn't notice her reaction and kept on walking, just like the rest of the student body. She heard another bell and the hall quickly became deserted, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

It couldn't be him. It couldn't be _her_ Jamie.

She had to know for sure it wasn't him.

She completely let go of her bag and let go of the buzz, turning invisible and flying at her top speed to the nearest exit, before turning towards the Institute. She never flew that fast before and wasn't sure if she wouldn't just collapse mid-air, but she couldn't care less.

She could just fly past the security at top speed and hope for the best, but she knew they wouldn't let her near Jamie when they caught her sneaking in, so she stopped inches from the gate, turned visible and used the buzzer for once.

"Ororo Monroe, how can I help you?"

"I-I…" _'What the hell am I doing?'_ "I…"

"Hello, Spectre. I believe Professor Xavier awaits you in his office. Come in."

' _What?'_

The gates opened in front of her. She looked around, expecting the whole X-dweebs-team to jump from behind a bush, before remembering that they were still in school.

Mystique was going to-

' _Right, no Mystique.'_

With her newfound courage, Violette walked towards the mansion, keeping her head high, knowing that her every move was watched. She knew she could just take off towards the door, but she wanted to make a statement. She wasn't here to fight, she was here to find _him_. The door was open wide and she walked in, immediately going upstairs. She walked past Wolvie, ignoring his questioning gaze and knocked on the office door, knowing that if she'd as much as blink she'd probably turn invisible and run, not ready to even _hypothetically_ face her brother.

Was she even _allowed_ to call him that? She left him with his abusive father and fled the state, making sure none of them would be able to find her. Even after Mystique took her in, she never thought twice about going back to New Mexico to at least check up on him. She was an awful sister, _hell_ , an awful person.

She heard a muffed welcome and opened the door, seeing the Professor behind his desk, smiling.

"Oh, um, hi?"

"Hello, Violette. I believe you wanted to talk to me about my newest student" He was as calm as always, which never seemed good.

"Yeah, Kurt told me about him" She took a couple of uncertain steps, her courage disappearing immediately after coming in. "I know you can tell me if what I _think_ is true or not. And I know you know how badly I _need_ the answer."

"Very well" He wheeled towards her, the smile still etched on his face. "If you'd allow me to…"

"Sure" She rested her hands on her knees, bending enough to be eye level with Xavier.

He put his hands on her temples, closing his eyes. She felt a jab in her mind, before gasping and shutting her own eyes tightly. She felt every emotion, every little feeling she had for the past couple of years, relived every memory in just a fraction of a second, before it all stopped. All she heard was the beating of her own heart as her mind focused on Jamie's face the night she vanished.

' _Je t'aime.'_

' _What?'_

' _Hide in the closet.'_

"No!"

Her eyes flew open, while her body slammed into the wall behind her. She couldn't reach the buzz, her body turning completely invisible in seconds. Her fists started to shake. She felt as if her blood was about to burst through her skin like her veins were coming out of her body. She screamed, the pain from all these years finally pouring through.

"Violette, listen to me."

She had no idea what was going on. Her mind and body were completely separated as if she was trapped inside someone else. She felt her hands make contact with the wall, turning it completely see-through.

"Listen, you've got to control this."

She had no idea what the Professor was saying as if she was in a glass tank filled with water and he was on the other side.

She felt an unfamiliar warmth in her hands, her fingertips tingling from too much heat. Every nerve in her skin screamed that she was going to burn her skin and she tried to let go of whatever she was holding, only to find that there was nothing there – nothing except for the wall.

She screamed and felt the warmth leave her hands. She also felt strange holes in the wall where her hands were mere seconds earlier.

"I-I can't."

She heard a commotion and a door bounce off of the wall when somebody opened them with unnecessary strength. She could _feel_ people trying to come close to her, bouncing off of an invisible wall. She felt jabs at her, something like needles sticking into her brain, which only made her scream more, another time a blast at something, which surprisingly made her feel it.

She didn't know how long she was in that state. She had no idea what was going on until everything stopped.

* * *

"Where is she?"

Scott turned around, narrowing his eyes at Alvers. He crossed his arms over his chest and sent the rock tumbler a glare.

"Who?"

"The Easter Bunny" Alvers took a step towards him, growling. "Spectre. What did you X-geeks do to her?"

"You're delusional" Scott set his jaw. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"She disappeared, Summers. And don't give me that 'she's probably cutting the day short' crap, cause I know my team. She _doesn't_ take days off."

"Like, what is going on?"

They both turned to the approaching Kitty, with an uncertain Kurt right behind her.

"You better tell me, KitKat" Alvers snapped, mirroring Scott's pose. "Where is Spectre?"  
"I just saw her right before lunch" Kurt cleared his throat. "She's probably somewhere around."

"Somewhere around, huh?" Avalanche leaned towards Kurt, narrowing his eyes. "I'll tell you one thing – unlike the dumb fuck over there, I _know_ where my teammates are. I _know_ what the fuck is going on with them. When I tell you she disappeared, you can be _sure_ she disappeared" He looked past Kurt, frowning. "Pietro, Fred, Todd, those losers did something to Violette."

The rest of the Brotherhood ran over quickly, seeming ready to fight them if needed.

"Where is she, yo?" Toad poked Kurt. "I know ya have English with her, _rat_. Better tell me where she is, dawg, or we'll get _unpleasant_."

"I have no idea, okay?" He raised his hands in surrender. "We were just talking and she _vanished_. Thought she ditched me in the crowd."

The Brotherhood boys looked at each other, narrowing their eyes. Todd and Lance backed off, while Fred spoke up.

"What did you talk about?"

"Like, it's none of your business-"

"New students" Kurt motioned for Kitty that it was okay.

"Kurt!" Scott turned to the boy. "You can't just-"

"Look, elf" Toad crossed his arms over his chest. " _Ya_ and I both _know_ what goes on in this girls mind. _What_ did you talk about? _Exactly_ what."

"Right before we separated, I was telling her about the youngest, Jamie Madrox."

Todd's face turned even paler than before. Lance and Pietro exchanged looks, while Blob's hands turned into fists.

"Shit" Toad run his hands through his greasy hair. "I have a crazy idea where the fuck she is."

" _What_ is going _on_?!" Scott threw his hands in the air to emphasize his question.

Jean chose this exact moment to run towards them.

"Kurt, go find Rogue and Evan!" She yelled, coming to a halt in front of Scott. "We have to get to the mansion, immediately. Spectre is wrecking the place."

"Ha!" He pointed at Alvers, fury in his eyes. "You tricked us!"

"You X-dweebs just took in her _brother_. One she hasn't seen for _years_. And since the Asteroid she's been skittish and just _weird_ you know?" Fred rolled his eyes. "Something was _wrong_ with her. Add _wrong_ to _weird_ and multiply it by _shock_. You get _total disaster_."

"Quicksilver, go there and try your best to _calm her the fuck down_!" Alvers commanded, staring at Scott. "We'll get there as soon as we can."

"Oh, like I'm letting you walk around the institute" Scott snared.

"You have a better idea, Boy Scout?"

Kurt appeared in front of them with Rogue, while Evan rode towards them on his skateboard.

The leader of X-Men weighted his options, before shaking his head.

"Fine!"

* * *

Pietro ran as fast as he could, jumping over the gate and stopping in front of the mansion, cursing. He slowly walked towards where he knew a wall should be.

"Where the rest of the building has gone?"

He looked behind his shoulder, seeing Nightcrawler standing in a cloud of smoke.

"It's still there. She could turn small things invisible when she touched them. The biggest thing she could do was a dictionary."

The elf walked up to him, putting his gloved hand on the invisible wall.

"It's a bit _bigger_ than a dictionary."

"I can't run in if I don't even know where a wall's supposed to be" Pietro turned to the boy. "Can you port us in?"

"I think I can" He took a deep breath. "But if anything goes wrong-"

They heard a blast and exchanged looks.

"No time!" Quicksilver grabbed the boy's arm, closing his eyes. His nostrils were filled with the unmistakable smell of sulfur, while the world around him disappeared, before reappearing in a fraction of a second. He stumbled while taking a step away from the X-Man, opening his eyes.

It was weird – somehow Spectre managed to make the outer walls invisible, _without_ making some of the things inside see-through. He could see Xavier and Storm on the left, while a ball of blue-ish energy was on the right. The woman was trying her best to break the bubble, while Professor was concentrating on something. Suddenly, he knew where she was.

"Violette!" He screamed over the wind created by Storm, slowly making his way to the bubble, knowing that if he wasn't careful he'd get blown off. "Violette!" He tried his best to reach her, hitting the bubble. Force-field. "Calm down!" A blue blast wheezed past him. If it wasn't for his speed, he'd get hit. "You hear me?! Calm down!" It wasn't working. He tried his best, but he couldn't break through. "Fuzzball! Drop me in there!"

"No way!" They could hear commotion underneath them. The rest of the teens arrived.

"We don't have other options right now! Just do it!"

Kurt swallowed and ported towards the boy, grabbing him around the waist, before porting in. He couldn't see much, thanks to the blue energy surrounding them, but he could clearly see where Spectre was – she wasn't invisible, but instead of her normal self, he could see a form made out of the same energy that was flowing around the outer walls of the bubble and crashing from one place to the other. They were floating, suspended in the air.

"Violette, for Pete's sake!" Quicksilver screamed over the loud buzzing sound made by the energy. "It's me, you dumb fuck!" A blue beam flew inches from them.

"I don't think it's helping!" Kurt yelled into his ear. "Try not insulting her, for a change!"

"Shut up!" He answered, turning back to the girl. "V, everything is going to be fine, just stop this madness!"

The next beam hit Pietro head on. Kurt ported them out and hissed at the burnt skin on the boy's stomach.

"Fuck!" Quicksilver curled into a ball, the pain evident on his face. Kurt could see the two teams stare at them. Storm went over to them, creating a small cloud and prying off the boy's hands, letting cold droplets hit the burn. "Shit!"

"I can try absorbing her!" Rogue started to take off her glove.

"No!" He said, shaking his head. "It's as if she's made of the energy that hit him! One touch and your hand will be fried!"

"Try hitting hard enough for her to black out!" Scott started to hit the bubble with his red beams.

Kurt couldn't take his eyes off of Pietro, knowing that he was her _friend._ A close one at that. She was so out of it she hit her own _friend_.

He didn't know how long he sat there, all of the blasts luckily missing him.

"Take me in there."

He turned to the owner of the voice. He could hear how tired and resigned he was.

"You've seen what happened to Quicksilver" He gestured towards the boy. Thanks to his fast healing and Storm's help, the skin was looking better, but he was still in pain.

"If you won't do it, Kitty will."

Kurt quickly glanced at the petite girl, who was currently phasing through another blast. He bit the inside of his cheek, nodding.

"But if it flies in a feet radius from us, we're out."

He stood up, wrapping his hands around Avalanche's middle and porting.

The boy was idly calm, keeping his voice low and unthreatening.

"Violette, listen to me" The buzz was as loud as ever, but it seemed as if Lance's voice was louder than Pietro's. The figure twitched. "You can control this. You've already hurt so many people, you don't want to hurt more" The buzzing quieted down until it wasn't much louder than a hum. "I know how shocked you must be right now. But it won't help anything if you destroy the place Jamie lives in" Lance floated over to her, tugging Kurt along. "I know you can do it. But in order to control your power, you have to control _yourself_ " The blue energy intensified, before starting to slowly die out. "That's it. Don't let it rule you" Violette turned back into her own self, tears rushing down her face. Lance got out of his hold, floating over to her and wrapping his arms around her. "You're so _strong_ , Violette."

* * *

"Where are Kurt and Lance?!" Kitty yelled, phasing through another blast.

None of the teenagers could answer her. Her eyes widened as she looked at the ball of energy.

"Oh, they _did not_ just- Urgh!"

She made her way towards the bubble, phasing through the flying things and blasts, not caring that she was blocking other people's line of vision, as she stood a mere foot from the bubble. She was about to phase through when everything stopped.

No one dared to move, as the bubble slowly lowered itself onto the floor and disappeared, revealing a crying Violette being held by Lance, while Kurt awkwardly hung around.

Jean lowered the furniture and things to the ground, Todd jumped off the wall, while Fred let go of the desk he was thinking about throwing at the bubble. Rogue bit her lip and ushered her teammates out of the room, feeling the little ounce of respect she had for Spectre tingling in the back of her mind, reminding her that it wasn't okay for them to witness what came next.

* * *

Violette weakly grabbed at Lance's middle, starting to hiccup. Being hysterical wasn't something she had on her mind when she woke up in the morning.

She felt a slight breeze before someone grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She felt another hand rest on her back, while an enormous one squeezed her shoulder. She gasped for air and sniffed a couple of times, before quieting down.

Lance started to stand up with her, but she went limp in his arms.

* * *

"What was that?" Freddy leaned over to check on Violette.

"I have no idea" Lance shrugged, picking her up. "I've never seen anything like this. My headaches look like a child's play next to this."

"Ya think it's her mutation, dawg?" Todd frowned.

"It would explain why suddenly she could shoot lasers at us" Pietro winced, rubbing over the burn, which was now fading to bright red. " _Fuck_ , it hurt like hell."

"I think it's half shock half powers" Lance swallowed. "You've all seen how she woke up from a nightmare _invisible_. I think it's somehow connected."

"You're right, Lance" Avalanche looked over his shoulder, meeting Professor's calm gaze. "Our mutations grow and evolve with us. That's why most mutations reveal themselves during adolescence. Violette's powers surfaced at a younger age, so they might not have revealed themselves completely" The man sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Or it's something different. It's difficult to say, seeing that we know so little about mutations anyway. And if she had trouble with controlling her powers for a while now… It may have been building up until something triggered it."

"Like finding her brother" Pietro ran a hand over his face. "Damn, I'm exhausted. Give her to me Avalanche and we'll be in the house in seconds-"

"If it's okay with you" Xavier wheeled over to them, his fingers interlaced in front of him. "I'd like to keep Spectre here until she wakes up. Maybe run some tests-"

"No."

" _Blood_ tests. Check her heart rate. Maybe hook her up to IV if it's necessary. A… _Power surge_ like this may have drained her from liquids, mineral salts, anything really. I've only seen anything like this a couple of times and some of the mutants experiencing this ended up in a coma for up to a week."

Lance looked at the rest of his team, all of them silently agreeing.

"Until she's ready to come back."


	8. Interlude I: The Honest Lies That We Tell

The house without her was too quiet.

It wasn't even that Violette talked so much – no, god forbid, she was the quietest one of them all – but that they stopped talking to each other. She wasn't even the glue that kept them together, it was just that she was the one who interacted with them – she'd sit around and listen to Lance play his guitar, she'd ask Todd to help her draw better, she'd cook with him in the kitchen, she'd help Pietro practice. With her in a coma, they stopped doing all of those things – well, maybe except for cooking, Fred knew they had to eat – in favor of getting from the X-geek mansion to the house and back, with occasional mopping.

Todd even forgot about his own birthday and Fred could clearly see how stress made him, even more, paper thin. Pietro would disappear for the whole day in favor of running around town until he got back home and passed out on the couch. Lance tried very hard to keep his cool, but the house would shake slightly every once in a while, giving away his concerns. And Freddy – Freddy tried to keep them all alive.

He would pick Pietro up from the chair – or sofa, or even the freaking _floor_ – and put him into his bed, he would push a plate of food towards Todd each chance he'd get and he would make sure Lance's pills were always in sight.

And, once he was somewhat sure they'd get by for a while without his assistance, he'd get out of the house and pick up daisies on his way to check up on Violette. Sometimes he'd lean down and whisper to her that everything was going great. And every time he'd come back, he'd silently wish she'd just wake up and make them all better.

He wasn't sure how much longer he could take this silence.


	9. I: A Change Might Do You Good, Afterall

Jamie Madrox was a remarkably happy child, considering his upbringing.

He rarely let anything bring him down. His father didn't let him attend a school trip to the local museum? He liked to spend time in the library reading comics anyway. His mother couldn't afford an enormous chocolate cake he saw on display for his birthday? He didn't think it really tasted that good. His sister ran away from home? She'll have a lot of stories of incredible adventures that she'll tell him when they see each other again. When will that be? In the future. There was no way they wouldn't find each other because even if they were continents apart, he knew she wouldn't give up on him.

That thought kept him running.

He knew what was going on in his house. He knew what his mother and sister were doing for all these years. He knew they were putting themselves in the harm's way, to keep his father away from him. They tried so hard for him to get out unharmed, he couldn't repay them with being naughty and moody.

His mother was proud of him. Every six year old in his place, with very little toys, cartoons only on Saturday mornings and almost no sweets at all, would have been throwing fits at any given moments, but he was thankful for everything he had.

On his seventh birthday, few months after Violette's escape, he opened his birthday present, expecting his mother's old, blue backpack – his own bag fell apart a week earlier and his mother gave him not always the newest gifts, but rather ones he needed – but to his surprise, he found a shiny and new, green, ' _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'_ one, with a couple of new comic books inside. Confused, he looked at his mother, concerned how much she sacrificed to buy it.

"Your dad bought it" She smiled, the bruise on her cheek showing beneath her make-up. She tried so hard to pretend everything was normal during the day, he had no heart to tell her how weird the fact his father acknowledged his existence was. "I hope you like the comic books. He chose them."

Jamie bit his tongue before saying something stupid.

That night, instead of sitting in his room and pretending he didn't hear the fight downstairs – or rather, the _beating_ – he was standing in the kitchen, cutting a small cheesecake, while his parents sang happy birthday. His father smiled and ruffled his hair.

It was the worst birthday he ever had.

Some would say that it was a change for the better, but it didn't change anything at all. His sister was still gone. The next night his father came home drunk and beat up his mom. He remembered the birthday only because it was so _weird_ as if it was only a dream.

He spent years not getting what made his father behave that way on that one particular birthday. Maybe it was that he thought after Violette left they would all change? That maybe Darlene would somehow stop angering him with whatever it was that he was angry about? That they could all pretend she didn't exist and that they were a perfectly normal family?

It didn't work.

It was his thirteenth birthday when his life turned upside down.

It wasn't a really extraordinary day. He woke up, his mom gave him his bowl of cereal and a kiss on the forehead, whispering 'Happy Birthday', her blonde hair tickling his neck. He smiled at her and thanked her, happy to see her bright eyes shine with something different than fright. She always tried so hard to hide it.

He caught the bus to school and spent the day there, playing with other kids. He didn't really have any close friends, but it didn't bother him as long as his peers were still willing to include him. After school, he caught the bus home and went over to the kitchen, where his mom was waiting with dinner. She made his favorite dish, a French thin-crust pizza the name of which he couldn't pronounce. His father may have banned anything non-American from their house after Violette left – ' _The fact that_ you're _here is bad enough'_ – but his birthdays were an exception. His mother didn't care about Daniel and it wasn't like he had any idea. The pizza was so small she made two just for herself and Jamie.

After he helped mom clean up, she gave him his present – a pencil case and a scrapbook already filled with photos.

"Hide it in your room, okay baby?" She brushed his hair out of his face, smiling. "I… Just felt like you need to have this" She kissed his forehead. "You need a haircut."

"Thank you, mom" He hugged her, biting his lip. "I love you."

"Love you too" She hugged him back. "Now, go do your homework."

"Yes, ma'am."

He went upstairs and did as he was told. He was in the middle of math when he heard the front door bounce off the wall and his father's screams. He tried to ignore it, but he heard his name.

"Leave him out of this!"

"Oh, he's old enough now! He needs to toughen up, you know? See how he should treat whores like you! _James_!"

"No _please_ , don't do this-"

" _James_!"

Jamie walked out of his room, his hands shaking. He was scared, so _scared_.

They were shouting at each other. His father was holding mom by her hair. Her face was swollen.

He started to talk, but Jamie couldn't hear a word he said. He just looked straight into his mother's tear-filled eyes. He saw Daniel raising his hand to lay another blow on her.

Jamie had no idea what happened, but he found himself between them. He felt the blow land on the side of his head and he fell due to the strength of it. Then something weird happened. He felt like he was there, but at the same time, he was next to himself. As if he split in half after the hit.

"What the-"

Jamie blinked a couple of times and sat up, coming face to face with… _Himself?_

' _What just happened?_ '

"Another freak?" Daniel looked at his mother. "Another one, _huh_? You filthy slut, giving birth to some abominations, I should just-"

He let go of Darlene and went over to Jamie, ready to strike. She crawled over, protecting him with her own body.

"No, no, _please_ do anything to me _please_ don't hurt him-"

"You slut! I gave you a home, I married you, I let your stinking kid live here and that's how you fucking repay me? Bet that little freak isn't even mine!"

"Daniel, please, be reasonable-"

"Reasonable?!" He spat out. "I'll give you reasonable, you fucking cunt!"

* * *

Jamie blacked out.

* * *

That was the last time he saw his mother. The nurse calmly explained what happened.

Someone, after _years_ of knowing what went on in the Madrox house, called the police.

They found him lying next to his mother. His dead mother, with Daniel's fingers still holding her throat.

 _'He's going to jail'_ , she said. ' _That bad man's going to jail and he won't hurt you anymore_.'

The problem was, he already hurt Jamie. He took away his sister. Then, he took away his mother, the only person he had left.

She said that he legally had a house now. That he could come in and take anything he wanted and go live with his guardian.

"What guardian, miss?" He asked her. He didn't have any family left and even if Violette found him, she was too young to have any legal power over him.

She asked someone to come in.

That's how he met Professor Charles Xavier.

* * *

He took the scrapbook and some of his clothes. Asked Professor if they could get rid of the rest. He didn't want that house. It wasn't home. Home was where his mother and sister were.

Someone bought the house. They gave the furniture to charity. He decided last minute that he wanted to take some of his mom's stuff.

He took her perfume. Her blanket. Her wedding dress. He fished the old engagement and wedding rings he knew she had from the bottom of her nightstand drawer.

After his mother's funeral, he packed his things and went to Bayville with Miss Munroe.

Miss Munroe was a very nice woman – she treated him like a child, but not out of spite, no, she was genuinely concerned about his well-being. It brought out the best memories he had of his mother, of her smiling, still young and beautiful as ever face. It made him feel at ease with the whole situation.

He started to think about the Professor and what he said about the computer that helped him find mutants. Maybe it could help him find his sister. He'll have to ask when they land.

Miss Munroe woke him up when they were in the hangar. He met the whole house and a very pretty brunette showed him to his room, phasing out the door after telling him that she'll get him when dinner's ready.

So this was it. His new home.

It was pretty usual for a mansion filled with mutant teenagers – that is until he came home one afternoon to see most of the windows smashed and some furniture casually lying around the yard. And while he was sure it wasn't a doing of any of the X-Men, he wasn't sure _why_ anyone would do that.

He came in, walking past frozen Jubilee and Amara. Both of the girls stood there with their mouths open, their eyes glued to the shards of glass sprawled all over the floor.

' _Jamie, could you come into my office for a second?_ '

Obedient as ever, he walked upstairs and knocked on the right door, proud of himself for not getting lost _again_. After hearing the invitation, Jamie walked inside an uncertain smile on his face.

"You wanted to see me, Professor."

"Yes, sit down, please" Jamie followed the instruction, making himself appear as small as possible. "I've got… Quite the news for you, Jamie."

"Does it have anything to do with the mess? Cause I swear, it wasn't me or any of my dupes-"

"It does, but not exactly in the way you'd think" Professor smiled warmly, wheeling over to him. "Actually, we know perfectly well who did this."

"Really?" Jamie raised his eyebrows. "Who was it, then?"

"A young mutant, one you know very well" Professor put a hand on Jamie's shoulder. "I fear there is no gentler way to say this. She goes by the name Violette Girard."

_'Violette Girard.'_

_'Violette.'_

"What do you mean she did this?" Jamie took a deep breath, letting the words spill out. "Is she one of the bad guys? Did she try to destroy the Institute? Is she the incarnation of all that is evil?"

"I wouldn't say that" The Professor chuckled. "She had a power surge, triggered by the revelation of your whereabouts. The emotions she struggled with triggered hormone release at a rapid pace, a pace her body wasn't used to. All the chemical changes in her body summed up with the slight troubles she had with her mutation the last few weeks. It caused her to, well-"

"Blow up?"

"In a way, yes."

* * *

Jamie once again looked at her face. Each time it made him feel even more lost than before.

She obviously looked very different. She wasn't a child anymore, although he doubted that she ever really was. He could see some faint scars on her hands, one of which he held for the past week. There was something oddly comforting in maintaining physical contact with her, it made her seem more real.

Because the whole thing felt unreal. The chance of finding her _here_ of all places was almost non-existent.

Yet there she was, Violette Girard in all of her glory, unconscious and so familiar, although he felt as if she was a stranger, the six years he spent without her weighing him down.

She was his sister, for God's sake, how come he knew so little about her?

Jamie felt it even more so when strange boys would come visit her throughout the day.

The one who introduced himself as Todd would hop onto the chair on the opposite side of the bed and take a hold of her hand, talking about his day and what happened at their house – ' _their?'_ – and how he couldn't wait for her to wake up because ' _We kinda need ya, Violette. It's so hard without ya, yo.'._

There was Fred, who struggled to fit in the chair. He would always bring some kind of flowers with him, more often than not daisies. Instead of talking to Violette, he'd turn to Jamie and ask him about how his life was. What he liked to do, his favourite colour, that kind of stuff. After a while he would squeeze Violette's hand and say his goodbyes, walking out with tears in his eyes.

Another guy, Pietro, would just pop up every few hours, check everything and run off in a blur.

But the weirdest one was a boy whose name Jamie didn't even know. He'd come in every evening and just sit with her hand between his in silence. His thumbs would draw circles on the back of her hand and he'd just stare at her face. After an hour or so he'd stand up and kiss her forehead, leaving without a word.

It frustrated Jamie that he didn't really know these boys but they seemed to be a big part of her life, such a big part that apart from him, the Professor and occasionally Kurt they were her only visitors.

On day eight, when the silent guy was sitting in Violette's room for over twenty minutes without saying a word, Jamie decided that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

"I'm Jamie."

The guy looked up from Violette's face.

"I know" He sighed, one of his hands letting go of Violette's. He offered it to Jamie. "Lance."

He shook it.

"So, are you her boyfriend or something?"

"God, no" Lance chuckled. His voice was less gruff than Jamie expected, going by his looks alone. "We're just… Friends."

"Okay" Jamie bit his lip, trying to keep his own voice even and cool. "Are any of the other guys…?"

"Nah, she's not dumb enough to go out with any of them."

"So going out with you _is_ the sensible thing?"

"For her? We're not really each other's types, you know. Too dark and not nice enough for the other."

Jamie nodded and sat back in his chair.

"So, you two are the bad guys?"

"I wouldn't call us that, not in that sense" Lance went back to drawing circles on Violette's hand. "The world's not nearly as black and white as you X-Men seem to think."

"The misunderstood ones, then."

"Closer, but I was joking. We are the bad guys. Have you seen us? Bunch of thugs and hoods."

"Maybe I don't know you all well enough, but I think I still know Violette" Jamie sighed. "I know what she's like. And I think that while maybe she's not misunderstood, she for sure understands the whole workings of the mutant cause less than you'd think."

Lance raised his eyebrow.

"And since when do _you_ understand the whole mutant cause?"

"Since I came here and talked to the Professor for a while."

"So, like, two weeks."

"…Maybe."

Lance just laughed and kissed Violette's forehead.

"Take care of her, Jamie." 

* * *

"You have to get out of here, Jamie" Miss Munroe ran a hand through his hair. He didn't lift his head from his hands, one of Violette's tightly held between them. "I'm sure your sister wouldn't want you to wither away at her bedside."

He didn't answer. Miss Munroe sighed and put down beside him his lunch – two PBJ sandwiches and a juice box. He hardly ate anyway.

"Some new students arrived" She tried once again, sitting on the bed. "She'll still be here when you come back" The woman bit her lip, placing her hands on her lap. "Please, Jamie, just for an hour or so."

Jamie licked his lips and looked at Violette's face, before nodding.

"Okay."

* * *

"Jamie!"

He didn't expect that the first thing that would happen after he came out of the institute would be Jubilee running towards him. She tightly wrapped her arms around him, successfully suffocating him.

"How are you holding up?"

He swallowed the bile that rose in his throat and forced himself to smile. She at least seemed to care.

"I'm fine, really. No need to worry."

The other girl he knew for just over two weeks, Amara, ran up to them and also gave him a hug, one significantly less tight.

"Come on, let me introduce you to the rest!" They dragged him towards mayhem and destruction. "Guys, this is Jamie!"

A girl not that much taller than him introduced herself in a weird accent – ' _Rahne'_ \- and elbowed a blond boy next to her.

"I'm Sam" Everything about the boy screamed shy, from the soft tone of his voice to his posture, trying to appear as small as possible.

A humongous ice slide appeared in front of them, with a chuckling boy gliding down, a shouting blonde on his back.

"Bobby Drake" He put down the girl and shook Jamie's hand.

"Well, aren't you a cutie" The girl put her finger under his chin, smirking. "I'm Boom Boom."

"Stop it, Tabby, you'll scare the little dude off" A tall guy put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm Ray."

It seemed that the string of new people was never ending when a fiery figure landed in front of Jamie, quickly turning into a grinning boy.

"I'm Roberto da Costa" Jamie could clearly see Ray mocking the boy behind his back.

To be honest, Jamie felt a little bit crowded with all the new mutants around him. He spent a week sitting in his sister's hospital room with little to no company, being surrounded by eight people was something he felt uncomfortable with.

"Um, hi?" He waved his hand before turning to Jubilee. "I think I'm going to take some of my comics and just, you know, go back."

"Oh, that's okay Jamie-"

"Dude!" Sam sprang from behind Rahne, suddenly appearing much bigger than before. "Maybe I can lend ya some of mine?"

Before Jamie could protest Amara pushed him towards the blond boy, encouraging him to do so.

Just as suddenly as it dropped, Sam's shyness came back with a full force.

"Um, so, the girls talked to me about ya sister" He guided Jamie up the stairs and to his room, one he shared with Roberto based on the photos hanging up on the walls. "And I thought that ya know, I could to talk to ya or somethin'" Sam started to rummage through a pile of comics underneath his bed. "Ya see, one of my brothers's currently in a coma" He fished out a couple of the newest issues of Captain America and handed them to Jamie, scratching the back of his head. "Hate crime caused by his physical mutation. Prof made sure the story didn't blow up, but the damage was done. Ya see Joshy was born with those cute tiny wings. My ma would smother him to a point of frustration, he's the third oldest of us ten, just turned twelve last January. Those… Monsters beat him to a pulp when a tip of his wing slipped out of his shirt. Grown men against a child" Sam swallowed and wiped his left eye. "Thing is, ya shouldn't just sit at her bedside day after day, hardly eating, almost not sleeping at all. It's not healthy. And no matter whether she'll wake up in two hours, two weeks, two months, or two years time, you should never give up hope" Sam smiled. "If she's perfectly healthy and only not responding, then it means you should wait for her. That she needs some time. And the best way to wait for her is by enjoying life."

Before Jamie could say another thing, a smell of sulfur hit his nostrils. He turned around, surprised to see a smiling Kurt right behind him.

"She's awake."

He grabbed the blue boy and the whole world disappeared from underneath his feet.

"Two seconds it is" Sam chuckled, picking up the comics Jamie left behind. "Damn, that girl's got a timing."

* * *

The darkness surrounding her felt a little less overwhelming. The sounds floating around it started to make more sense, forming into words, sentences. The weight crushing her body seemed to lift itself, enabling her to move her fingers, toes, hands. She felt like a fish out of water, trying hard to open her eyes.

When she finally succeeded, she was met with a pair of blue ones, staring at her in wonder.

She felt as if she was dreaming once again, hit with the past she was cruelly ripped from, the look in those eyes making her feel even more guilty.

"Hey."

The voice was slightly less childish, but still not deep enough to be considered a grown man's. It made her feel slightly better. He didn't change that much.

"Hi."

She could perfectly see how her father abandoned his family for a city full of people who butchered the French language because of these baby blues.

 _'Just like mums_.'

It felt almost natural to slip into French upon seeing that colour. It reminded her of home, of the warmth of the family she lost.

" _Je vous ai manqué._ "

" _What?_ "

It felt like a blow to her stomach.

 _'Right, Daniel forbid French_.'

"I missed you."

Jamie threw himself at her, squeezing himself as close to her as he could.

"I missed you too."

* * *

Within a span of two hours, she was ready to go, with Lance's jeep parked right outside the mansion. She felt cheated when Jamie waved to her team. How come they already knew him, while she still struggled with the awkwardness six years of being apart brought on them?

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?"

She turned to Jamie, still unused to the idea that she didn't have to crouch to be on an eye level with him.

"I'm sure" She smiled sadly, taking a hold of her bag. "Those guys back there are my life, basically" ' _Just like you, but you don't really need me as much, you have_ them _.'_ "I-I love you very much, Jamie."

"I know" He wrapped his arms around her middle, burring his nose in her hair. "Me too."

She turned to the Professor, licking her lips.

"I don't know how I can repay you" She choked out, swallowing the bile in her throat.

"You don't have to" The Professor smiled, offering her his hand. "Remember, you're always welcome here."

She nodded, shouldering the bag and going down the front steps. When she got close enough to the jeep for him to reach her, Todd hugged her with all his might, saying how he missed her.

She reciprocated before throwing her bag at Freddy and giving him a kiss on the cheek, astonishment showing on his face.

She did the same for Pietro and Lance, before jumping in and buckling her seat-belt.

"You've changed" Said Lance, turning on the engine. "How come? You were mostly asleep."

"I don't know" She waved to her brother as they rode away. "I think I started to value you guys a lot more. Or maybe just started to value life as a whole."


	10. Interlude II: That Insignificant Summer That Meant Everything

Crystal Amaquelin was a nice, pretty, kind and maybe a bit naïve strawberry blonde girl that Pietro did not deserve in any way.

Most of the time Lance would stay out of his love life completely, but Pietro usually kept around girls who knew why he kept them around. Crystal, on the other hand, was a romantic at heart and you could see it in the honest, open, lovesick smiles she kept sending Pietro. It was awful to look at.

And okay, Lance in no way was a saint – he played with Kitty's emotions and insecurities way back when he first met her, but it was never to this extent.

He wanted to say something, but Violette just kept stopping him with her hand on his chest, saying that Pietro, for once in his life, honestly liked a girl. And he'd foolishly listen, knowing he was the one who least got Pietro out of all of them, his thoughts going elsewhere.

He'd lie if he'd say he never thought about what could happen between him and Violette. It was just the kind of thought that would run through a guy's mind when he's living with a bunch of other guys and one, somewhat attractive, girl. But he'd always stop after a minute or two, not because he'd never have a chance, but because he did. He could make a move and she'd probably go with it. They'd be together and over time, he'd probably fall in love with her.

And then what?

What if they'd fight? Between the two of them, the house would turn into a smoking rumble and he'd end up with third-degree burns from all her blows, cause that was what Lance managed to always bring out of people, the worst. And of course, they'd inevitably break up, but what would they do afterward? How could they stay in this house, facing each other every day, when he knows they'd already say the worst they could? When there was no way they could take it back, cause that's how Lance hurt people, with words you couldn't pretend weren't said? Would she move out and leave them for the X-geeks? He'd have to stay on his best behavior and then marry the girl, just to keep the guys' hearts intact.

And Lance wasn't really the best choice when it came to potential husbands.

So instead, he'd focus on Pietro, trying to work out how Violette came to the conclusion that he even remotely cared about Crystal.

It was rather interesting, the way Pietro would not give a single fuck about all of them while simultaneously caring way too much. He'd say he never knew Lance was so into him with a smug grin, while his eyes showed his worry and panic.

And after a while, Lance had to admit, Pietro did like her. He would bring her stuff she didn't even ask for, talk with her and even cuddle without it turning into a make-out session. And when Crystal told him that her family was leaving for Norway at the end of August, he looked authentically crushed.


	11. II: The Worst Best Idea You've Ever Had

Violette, for once, spent her summer vacation with a smile on her face. Although she felt unwelcome, she visited Jamie every few days, taking him out to the park or to get some ice cream. It was unbelievable how quickly they got over the awkwardness surrounding their situation. Looking back, Violette felt as if there wasn't any awkwardness at all.

That was probably why on the welcoming assembly held by her _beloved_ Bayville High School, instead of whining about anything, she stood against the wall, smirking, occasionally teasing Lance.

Although she spent over a week at the Institute, the Brotherhood's relationship with the X-Men didn't really change at all. And that was why her whole team was amused by their so-called leader's crush on Kitty Pryde, the pride - pun intended - of the X-geeks. It was so cliché she almost couldn't believe it, but then again, it recently turned out that her own life was one big cliché.

"So, how's rocking her world turning out, Lancey?" She nudged him with her elbow, chuckling. "Is she the screeching, or the purring type?"

"Fuck off" He tossed the toothpick - _how badass_ \- he held in his teeth aside, walking towards the bleachers.

"He's no fun" Pietro stuck out his bottom lip. "Who are we gonna torment next?"

"How about fuzzy, yo" Todd finally caught his lunch, happily munching on it. "I hate the guy, dawg."

"Nah, Violette's gonna throw a fit if we pick on her new _boyfriend_ " Freddy laughed, his eyes not leaving Lance for a second.

"She's gonna reject him in three, two, one" As if on cue, Kitty loudly huffed and turned away from Lance, who in turn clenched his jaw tightly and groaned. The Brotherhood boys laughed. "And Kurt's not even remotely close to being my boyfriend."

Yeah, they were certainly closer to each other than those few months ago, but they weren't even _friends_ , to begin with, let alone something more. And for God's sake, she wasn't _Lance._ Falling for the enemy was stupid and a line she'd never cross. It was enough that her brother was on the opposite side of the fence, she didn't need to add _lover_ to the list of her problems.

"Whatever you say, V" Pietro winked, smirking. Violette was about to loudly remind him of his inability to keep his last girlfriend, Crystal, from running away to Norway, when the ground underneath her feet started to shake.

"Damn, Lance is really going for it" Freddy stumbled, but thankfully didn't fall. Picking him up from the ground was always a struggle.

Their new principal, however, wasn't nearly as lucky – he fell straight on his ass.

After the vice-principal helped him up, the ground started to shake even more violently. Violette glued herself to the wall behind her, pushing her back to it as hard as she could.

"He's so horny he's ready to bury us in here" Pietro mimicked her pose, his fingers a blur as he made holes he could hold onto in the wall.

"Not fair" She struggled to keep herself up when she heard metal crack loudly. Her head snapped up – the scoreboard wasn't handling the earthquake as good as them. It finally fell, but before it could smash the new principal into the ground, it flew back.

"Grey must be on the loose" Thankfully, Lance stopped trying to impress Kitty with his mutant ability. "Who's up for a break?"

* * *

Violette took out her cigarettes and started to fish for a lighter. Giving up, she looked around and used her powers instead – she zapped the end of it, smiling when the blue energy lit it up.

She took a drag, staring at her boys piling up in the jeep. She was about to yell at Todd for taking her seat when the smell of sulfur reached her nose.

"You know, if you want to sneak up on me, you should get rid of your usual smell" She breathed out the smoke, turning to Kurt. "Some people may already think you're some kind of a pyromaniac with the whole used matches stench following you around."

"Well, my eagerness to set everything on fire in Chemistry might have already clued them in" He started to laugh, but quickly his face turned more serious. "Can you, I don't know, keep Lance at bay?"

"What, are you jealous?" She chuckled, taking another drag. She blew the smoke out in the shape of a heart, smirking when it hit his face.

"Very funny" He waved his hand in front of his face. "No, but really. Someone could have gotten hurt."

She sighed, flicking the ashes off of her cigarette.

"Well, don't people get hurt when some of you fuck up? I mean, last year Daniels had a cold and sneezed in the boys' locker room. Pietro told me he was lucky he's fast, cause otherwise, he'd for sure take one to the heart, _literally_ " Violette clenched her jaws. "And let's be honest here, I'm pretty sure he doesn't really give a fuck."

She turned away from Kurt and threw her cigarette away, walking towards the jeep. Lance and Summers were going at it once again, but instead of backing Lance up, she mentioned for Todd to get his butt off her seat.

Kitty dragged Summers away, while Lance turned to them, huffing.

"You know what, I'm sick of hiding our powers" He walked over to the other side of the jeep, opening the doors and getting in.

"But Mystique said-"

"Where is she, huh?" He interrupted Freddie and gripped the steering wheel. "What do you say, we take Principal Kelly's advice and show off our talents?"

For once Violette, instead of protesting, kept her mouth shut.

* * *

"Do you think it's a good idea?"

Violette shook her head, throwing her mask over her shoulder, knowing Pietro will have no problem with catching it.

"No" She sighed, looking at her reflection in the mirror. "Do you?"

"Who knows" She felt a breeze run through her hair.

"Should I forget the mask?" She adjusted her belt.

"Nah" He put the mask over her eyes and tied it before getting her hair from underneath it. "You wouldn't really be Spectre without it." 

* * *

"Okay Toad, now."

Todd's tongue shot out for the microphone, passing it to Avalanche.

"'Scuse me, folks" Spectre rolled her eyes, mouthing ' _folks_ ' to Toad, who just shrugged. "Hey, can I have your attention up here?"

Instead of thinking about exactly what they were doing, she focused on Lance's helmet. It was awful, showing himself off with a fruit bowl on his head. It was easier to do it without thinking about the consequences.

"You see, there's a lot of mutants at Bayville High" Violette's head immediately turned to him, her eyes wide. ' _Oh crap, shit got serious_.'

Avalanche listed a few of the other mutants, before sending a tremor powerful enough to tear the soccer field in two.

' _Okay Violette, act all villainy, be Spectre._ '

She took a deep breath and floated off the booth, hovering in mid-air. She let the energy that tingled in the tips of her fingers go, aiming at the bottom of the mascot. The bird wobbled, but before it could land on any civilians, Cyclops send it flying onto the gymnasium's roof, setting it on fire. Blob started to rip the bleachers underneath it apart, Quicksilver kept Principal Kelly busy, Toad was off mugging people, while Avalanche made his way down the bleachers, ready to kick Summers' butt. She took another deep breath, ready to strike one of the X-geeks when she felt arms wrap around her middle. The world around her disappeared and she felt herself choke on sulfur-smelling smoke.

She felt the ground collide with her back, all the air in her lungs leaving her body because of the hit. She opened her eyes, meeting a pair of bright yellow ones.

"Was that sneaky enough for you?"

She felt her cheeks color and her muscles regain their strength. She curled up her knees and kicked Nightcrawler off, but the kick instead of sending him flying, caused him to lose his balance and fall onto his back, grabbing her wrists and dragging her with him.

"You're learning something after all" She smirked, twisting her hands so that her fingers brushed against the back of his hands. "How about this?" She zapped them enough for him to let go of her wrists. She flew up, smirking. Before he could port again, Toad lunged at him. Kurt threw him off, the smaller boy hitting the bleachers.

The earth began to shake, debris falling from the gymnasium, along with the humongous bird. Violette quickly flew over to Todd, zapping the debris away from him, before throwing his arm over her shoulders and trying to pick him up. She could hear Shadowcat screaming Avalanche's name and quickly looked for the two of them. She was dragging his body from underneath the bird. Violette could swear that she saw Lance standing in the middle of the field just moments earlier. She felt rain hit her face and immediately knew it was over- with two-fifths of the Brotherhood out of it and another two battered, she had no way of winning this battle, not alone.

Nightcrawler ran over to the two of them, throwing Toad over his shoulder.

"He pushed her away" He explained, nodding towards Kitty sitting on the remains of the bleachers, Lance leaning against her motionlessly.

Violette nodded, biting her lip.

It was weird. Acting as if nothing happened after the battle. She could feel bruises forming on her back from fighting with Kurt as she asked him if he could put Todd in the backseat. Pietro was helping a shaken Fred stand up and guided him towards the car, before helping Violette pick up Lance ( _What the hell does he eat? I swear, he weighs more than me and you combined_ ) and put him in the passenger seat. Pietro started to look through Lance's pockets in search of keys and handled them to her, before running off to the house. She sighed, getting into the front seat and preparing herself for the ride home. It took them almost an hour because she had to constantly make sure Lance wouldn't fall out, thanks to the lack of seatbelts in the front.

She was ready to give him the worst 'I told you so' talk ever. She just had to wait for him to wake up.

* * *

"Why did you do it?"

Violette took another drag of her cigarette, looking out the window and blowing the smoke onto its glass surface.

"Mostly because I'm tired of fighting" She shrugged, knowing that Jamie couldn't really see her, but not being able to stop gesticulating. "And fighting with them is easier than fighting with my boys."

"Why do you keep calling them that?"

"Because that's what they are" She flicked the ash off into the dead houseplant Todd insisted on keeping. "They're my teammates, therefore, they're my boys. I'm their girl in the same sense. We look out for each other, mostly. We bicker and we fight, but we're a family, the only real one most of them ever had. And it's hard to go against your family."

"You have no problem with fighting against me."

"I'm not fighting against _you_ " She protested. "I'm fighting against the X-Men. Yes, you live with them, but you're not a part of their team, are you? I haven't seen you on the battlefield and it better stay that way."

"Whatever" He huffed, possibly pouting on the other side. "Talk to you later."

"Yeah" Violette nodded, ending the call and setting the phone down. She groaned, clenching her fist.

"Woah, easy there, yo" Todd jumped into the kitchen, opening the fridge and taking out a soda. "Little man got ya in a mood?"

"You could say that again" She buried her cigarette in the plant, sighing. "I mean, it's hard enough without him telling me that I live my life wrong."

"I feel ya, dawgette" Todd sat down at the table, opening the can.

She sat down next to him, resting her chin in the crook of his elbow. She long ago got used to his smell – _I smell like a man, yo_ – and it didn't really bother her anymore.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Eat somethin', yo. Eatin' always helps."

* * *

Violette was sick of all these rallies they had because of their Principal's need to interact with them all the time. The soccer season was finally over and she was happy because of it. It was the only thing half the school could talk about.

When Jean Grey went onto the stage to get her MVP award, she couldn't care less. Let Grey have her trophies if that's what she needed.

And Violette wouldn't even look at her if it wasn't for the fact that everyone got quiet. She looked up and felt confused. Jean Grey, little miss Perfect, always had something to say and it wasn't like she was shy or something, no, she was one of those people who could talk in front of others without a problem.

Up until now.

Violette looked at her more closely, intrigued. What could possibly happen, that threw her so off the track?

Grey's eyes snapped from a person to person and she was clearly panicking.

"Stop it, I can't hear myself think!" She let go of the trophy and the table behind her fell to the ground. Violette's eyes widened.

People around them were completely quiet.

"Isn't Grey, like, able to read people's minds or something?" She turned to Lance, whispering.

"I think so" He nodded, his eyes never leaving the X-geek on stage. "But it's one person at a time or something."

Violette licked her lips. Grey seemed to get over whatever it was that made her cuckoo.

"Remember when I blew up?"

"Hard to forget."

"What if Grey's blowing up? She can get into people's _minds_ for God's sake. Can you imagine what she'd do?"

* * *

Violette tried hard to ignore it, but she couldn't stand it anymore.

"What's that fucking smell?" She stopped herself from retching. They were driving home from school in Lance's jeep and she had to check whether Lance was awake or not, cause he kept staring off into space with a grin on his face, all the while almost driving them into the ditch.

She heard the same complains from the backseat and turned towards their driver, scowling.

"Lance, what's up with you?"

"Hmmm?" He looked up at the rode, cursing when he realized that he missed their turn. "Oh! Nothing, nothing at all."

"Yeah, right" Pietro leaned towards them, but quickly pulled a face and fell back onto his seat. "You were okay at the rally, but then suddenly turned into… This. What the fuck, man?"

Violette mentally checked his schedule. And her eyes widened.

"You _dog_!"

"What?"

"You had Chemistry! And you know who goes to Senior Chemistry class?"

"Who?" Freddy piped in, confused.

"Kitty Pryde, that's who" Violette groaned. "For fuck's sake Lance, it's the same age gap as between me and my brother. You were her age when she was _twelve_."

"Age is just a number. It doesn't really matter as long as people want to be together."

"Aha! So you do want to bang her! I knew that accusing you of pedophilia would get you to confess" Pietro chuckled, high-fiving her. "Now, why do you stink?"

"We made stink bombs together."

"How _romantic_."


	12. II: The Best Liar Around

"I can't believe you guys" Violette walked into the kitchen, shaking her head. "You turned this place into a fucking pigsty. It was perfectly clean not that long ago!"

"Ya mean when ya freaked out four months ago, yo" Todd caught another fly, happily munching on the rest of the insects in his mouth.

Pietro ran in, checking everywhere for food.

"Man, the cupboards are bare" He shut one of them closed, wincing when the door fell down. " _And_ falling apart."

"Yeah, what's with this cheap dump anyway?" Freddy walked into the room, his backpack slung over his shoulder.

"Yo, what we need's some serious coin" Todd jumped towards the doorway. "'N I know where to get it."

"'N _I_ know he's gonna fail, _again_ " Violette sighed, shaking her head. Fred followed Todd, to make sure he wasn't going to damage himself further. "Dammit, I'll just get some money off the cheerleaders."

"Good plan" Pietro whizzed towards her, coming to a halt a step from her. "Need any help?"

"Nah, but together it'll be more fun" She shrugged, going out of the room, the boy following her to the hall. Lance was standing at the top of the stairs, watching with a smile the scene in front of him.

"Dawg, that door's gotta be made out o' adamantium or somethin'" Todd was held upside down by Freddy, who was walking down the stairs.

"Knock it off, Toad! Not that I like you or something, but I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Yeah, what will happen when Mystique shows up and finds out you've busted into her room" Pietro leaned in, poking Todd's chest.

"She ain't comin' back, yo" Lance started to walk down the stairs, rolling his eyes at Todd's words. "Let's see if she left any cash lyin' around."

Fred tossed him into a wall. Violette winced, grabbing her backpack off the floor.

"Is that ya final answer?"

She opened the door and walked out, Lance right behind her.

"See you, Einsteins" He waved to the boys. "I'll be at school."

"Me too. For my own safety!" She heard Todd's sneakers squeaking against the ground.

"Boys" She sighed, walking over to the jeep. She was about to open the door when someone grabbed her bridal style. She saw the world around her turn into a blur. "Pietro!"

"Thought you'd like to get to school early" He smirked, looking down at her. "Heard of your English test and we both know there's no way you could revise with those losers around."

She felt her cheeks turn red when he put her down, his hands still firmly on her hips.

"Um…" She cleared her throat. "Thanks, I guess."

"No problem" He passed her something. She took it and oh, okay, it was her backpack. Okay, when did he take it off her shoulder? "See you around!"

Pietro ran off, leaving her outside the school, confused as ever.

 _What_ was that? They had their morning routine and it didn't involve literally _sweeping her off her feet_ and _carrying her_ to school. And since when did she blush around _Pietro_? As if his ego wasn't big enough with all the girls chasing him.

"Get your shit together" She muttered to herself, getting her notes out. If Pietro was right about one thing, it was that she needed the additional time to study.

English passed smoothly, though she couldn't help but notice that Kurt was fidgeting in his seat.

"What's going on, fuzz-butt?" She leaned towards him, raising her eyebrow. "I've been told I have the incredible gift of making guys squirm, but I never thought it was true."

"Umm, it's not that, just…"

She used the moment to observe him. He did this thing when he was nervous – when his tail was out and about it'd wrap itself around his leg or middle, but when he was in hiding, he'd start playing with his hair. And, in fact, he had his fingers stuck in the hair at the back of his neck, tugging on them. Although she couldn't see it, she knew him well enough to know when he was blushing, and his eyes were cast downwards.

"No, don't tell me" Her smile got wider with every second. " _The Incredible Nightcrawler_ has a crush!"

"Shh, shh" Thankfully no one gave a shit about what they were saying. "Okay, I may like this one girl, but it's not a _crush_."

"Oh, who's the one that stole your blue heart?" Violette winked at him.

" _Tabitha_."

"The crazy blond chick? The one that blows everything up all the time?"

"Well, _ya_."

"Good luck, Kurt" She put her hand on his shoulder, wincing. "You're gonna need it."

* * *

Lunch was surprisingly different. After she paid for her food, she started to walk towards _their_ table and was surprised to be, once again, literally swept off her feet.

"Hi" Pietro put her down, her tray in his hand.

"Can you tell me _how_ we're gonna explain the fact that I suddenly disappeared to the student body?" She said the first thing that came to her mind, confused and slightly dizzy.

"I can think of a few things" He winked and before she knew it she was sitting with her salad in her hand with Pietro right next to her, leaning on a hand placed dangerously close to her hips, munching on an apple.

"So, why are we doing this, exactly?" She slowly raised the fork to her mouth, not really sure if she was able to eat anything.

"Well" Pietro leaned into her personal space even more, which she thought was impossible without touching her. "As I found out during my time in the House, you're pretty, snarky, have a good taste in books _and_ music, and although you lack in the fashion department, you still manage to look cute."

"Well, aren't you the charmer" She rolled her eyes, ignoring the fact that she was surely blushing by now. ' _Pretty, huh?'_

"I try" He shrugged, smiling. "Another thing is, I find myself attracted to you _and_ you're a mutant."

"A double bonus."

"A double bonus" He nodded, taking another bite of his apple. "So, why are _you_ doing this?"

"Oh, I'm not" She shrugged. "I was abducted. I'm about to scream for help and call the police."

They laughed, Violette constantly aware of his breath on her face. She couldn't think clearly with a guy so close to her – she could feel the warmth radiating off of his skin, his cologne and toothpaste were the only things she could smell and if that wasn't enough, he was blocking her view of their surroundings completely.

She's never been in a situation like that before. She always openly avoided getting close to someone romantically, but now she was deafened by her heart beating rapidly and her blood flowing faster than ever and she didn't even notice his breath on her lips until the only thing she could see were his blue – _is that a hint of silver_ – eyes. Her own eyes flickered to his lips – slightly pink and so, _so soft_ – before she closed them, shivering in anticipation.

There it was – a short, chaste kiss that somehow made her want so much _more_.

Pietro pulled away, smirking.

"Abducted, huh?"

"Kidnapped if you prefer so" Violette took a deep breath. "But essentially, yes."

"And are you keen on maybe changing your mind?" He raised his hand and started to trace her collarbone with his finger.

"M-maybe" Violette gasped, squeezing her fork. "You could always, I don't know, tell me a sappy story about adjusting to Bayville so my easily swung by tragic events heart could convince me to drop charges."

"Sappy story, huh?" He leaned backward on his elbows, sighing. "New York was beautiful and full of clubs, which were full of attractive people I could have fun with. I may have been fifteen, but I was damn good at fooling everyone about my age, and charming bouncers is my biggest talent."

"Even the straight ones?"

"Especially the straight ones."

"Damn, Pietro" She took another bite, thinking about her next question. "So, you come here often?"

"With girls, you mean?" He shrugged. "I don't know. Normally none of them are the type to take anywhere if you catch my drift."

"So, Gut Bomb parking lot?"

"Mostly, yeah. Guys are easier though. They don't really care about if it's a bathroom or not."

She swallowed, blinking. ' _Oh.'_

" _Oh_."

" _Oh_?"

"Oh."

"Good 'oh' or bad 'oh'?"

"Just didn't expect that that's all."

"So what, I did all that and now you're gonna tell the guys to stick their asses to the walls?"

"No, no, I just… Well, I just genuinely didn't know. It's whatever – not like I wrap myself in a blanket every time I walk out of my room just because you all like boobs and I'm afraid you'll grab mine" Violette shrugged, shoving another forkful into her mouth so she wouldn't say something stupid.

She thanked whichever God there is that the bell rung before Pietro could open his mouth.

"I'll drop you off" He picked her up, and in a split second, she was standing in front of her Social Studies classroom.

"So, carnival, tonight. You in?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Cool, see you after school."

"I-I… Thanks" She wasn't really sure what she was thanking him for, but it seemed fitting.

"No problem" Pietro leaned in and kissed her, his thumb caressing her cheek and _oh God what why when_ and then he was gone.

She opened the doors a bit breathless, not getting entirely _why_. She knew Pietro long enough to know that he was a player – oh, he loved to charm panties off of unsuspecting teenage girls and _guys_ it seemed – so how come he was getting to her? How come she didn't blow him off like she should?

She decided to forget about it for now – after all, she had Social Studies to worry about. She sat two rows behind Kurt, but when the class was this empty – only them and two other kids – she couldn't help but see exactly what was scribbled on his book.

"Wild blue yonder boy? T.S. & K.W. in a heart?" She walked over to him, chuckling. "Damn, I never knew you were quite this… _Well_ , this."

"It was Tabitha" He scratched the back of his neck.

"Aw, how sweet!" Violette rested her hand on his desk. "Boom Boom likes you too! So, you two going to the _carnival_?" She clicked her tongue.

"We can't" He sighed, tapping the book with his finger. "We're grounded."

"Too bad" She smiled sympathetically. "I'll bring you some cotton candy tomorrow if you wanna."

"You're going? With whom?"

"First of all, ouch, is it really _that_ weird for a guy to like me? Second of all, do I have to go with someone?"

"I suppose not, but" Kurt smirked, raising his eyebrow. "You came in blushing and, dare I say it, giddy. There's surely a guy behind that."

"Maybe, maybe not" She ignored the heat she felt coloring her cheeks. "And if you _have_ to know, Pietro asked me out."

" _Pietro?_ " Kurt's eyes widened. "Is that a good idea?"

"I don't know" She answered truthfully. "But you know what they say. You never know if you never try."

"Just… Be careful."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't go _too fast_."

"Ew, stop, no, please, why?!"

* * *

Violette had no idea what to wear.

She's never been out with a guy before. She didn't really have the time to date while trying to live on the streets of New Orleans and most of the guys in Bayville weren't interested.

So she did the only sensible thing she could.

She asked her best friend for help.

"I have no fucking idea."

"Oh, come on Lance, you're a _guy_. You can surely tell me whether I look good or not" She rolled her eyes, trying to find something sensible in her closet. "Okay, first of all, jeans or shorts?"

"Jeans" Lance threw himself onto her bed. "Less chance of them suddenly disappearing off your body."

"Oh, aren't you a funny one" Violette threw her jeans at him, satisfied when the button hit his forehead. "I'm trying to look interested, but not too much. Long-sleeved shirt or short?"

"You girls really love to overanalyze things" He rubbed his forehead, groaning. "Top and a jacket."

"Which one."

"The first one you find… right?"

"I hate you."

"So _that's_ why I'm here."

* * *

Pietro knocked on her door at exactly seven, before bursting in and, once again, literally sweeping her off her feet.

"I could've been naked" Said Violette as soon as her feet hit the ground.

"And that's bad because…"

She chuckled and lead him towards the nearest ride.

They spent the next hour on various rides, laughing and screaming.

"For me, the best thing is the speed" She said after getting out of the cart. "But what's in it for you?"

"The height" He answered, leading her towards the Ferris wheel. "Come on, we haven't been on that one yet."

It was much slower and calmer than any of the previous rides they did, and an opportunity for them to talk.

"Why now?" She found the words leaving her mouth before she even thought them through. "I mean, we've known each other for months and I can buy the whole 'you're pretty' excuse, but you still could've made your move sooner. So, why now?"

Violette looked him in the eyes, trying hard not to shiver under his gaze.

"I… I-" He liked his lips. "I don't know."

She nodded.

* * *

They started to make out in the haunted house and honestly, she shouldn't be surprised.

His hands felt warm on her body, his every breath sending shivers down her spine. She felt intoxicated – her knees went weak, her kisses turned sloppy, but he just wrapped his arms around her waist and before she knew it her back hit something soft, her jacket was gone while his lips trailed down her neck.

' _I don't know.'_

"Pietro" She gasped out, her voice a bit raspy. "Pietro stop."

He froze immediately, his eyes finding hers.

"Just, just stop" She sat up, taking a deep breath. "I-I know okay. You don't have to pretend anymore" Violette licked her lips, running her hand through his hair. "This may not be the Gut Bomb parking lot, but you're not serious about me."

Pietro sat on his legs, biting his lip.

"I was good, though."

"Yeah, you were."

She almost got off the bed and went to her room.

Almost.

Instead, she grabbed his neck and went back to kissing him.

"I'm still not sleeping with you, though."

* * *

Someone was rapidly knocking on the front door.

"Lance, get the fucking door!" She yelled over the TV she was watching with Pietro.

She heard the door creak, but nothing except for that.

"I'm gonna check who's that" She sighed and got up, walking over to the hall.

Violette was greeted with a sight of Boom Boom walking into the Boarding House with a smirk on her face.

She felt a breeze ran through her hair and heard Pietro letting out a huge breath. He would take any X-Geek over child services.

"I need a place to crash. Rooms upstairs?"

Freddy nodded. Tabitha put her finger under his chin, a flirtatious smile on her face.

"Go stop her!" Pietro hissed to Fred, running over.

"You go stop her!"

"I'll go stop her" Violette sighed, ready to walk upstairs when she heard it.

"Oh, this one's locked!"

"Oh no" They all covered their heads and ears, ready for the explosion.

"Oh!"

They all ran upstairs, freezing when they saw what Mystique's room looked like.

"Nice" Tabby tossed her backpack aside, smiling. "So, stay out of my room."

She shut the door in their faces, chuckling.

"What. Just. Happened" Todd choked out, putting his hands on his head.

Violette just shook her head, walking towards her room.

"I'm done for today. Goodnight!"

* * *

Violette never thought she could find Chemistry interesting, but thanks to their new teacher, she did. Mr. McCoy was incredible at getting through to her, something all of her previous teachers failed at.

That's why, for once in her life, she was fully focused on the lesson, making notes and all that shit, even though Pietro kept throwing little balls of paper at Daniels who sat across the room from them. Pietro may have been great at throwing humongous rubber balls, but his aim became less impressive as the size of it turned smaller. Which meant that every once in a while a ball would hit her forehead.

"Fuck you" She hissed at him, stabbing him with her pencil. "It's interesting."

" _You_ are interesting."

"Pietro."

"I'm stopping it right now, I swear."

Violette looked up and sighed – she didn't finish her notes and Mr. McCoy already started talking about something else.

"What's up with you?" Pietro leaned in, smiling gently. "You seem kind of… Exhausted."

"It's cause I am" Violette yawned, pushing her hair back and tying it into a messy ponytail with a hairband she kept for PE. "Lance has spent the last few nights on the phone with Kitty. Turns out, I'm kind of a light sleeper after all" She snapped her head up, realizing something. "Wait, your room is on the other side of his. How come you're okay?"

"Earplugs" Pietro smirked, kicking his feet up. "You forgot Freddy's been sleeping across the hall from me. I had to quickly find a solution for his loud snoring. Want a pair?"

"God, yes."


	13. II: Our Dignity And Ego

It started to snow by the end of November, so the Brotherhood decided to have a snow fight. Todd loudly protested, saying how he wasn't ready to die, so they were sadly short a member.

Violette was ready to give up and offer to stay on the sidelines when Freddy did something unthinkable.

"How about you call up your brother?" He shrugged. "I mean, they have to let him out on the weekends, right?"

And that was how Violette found herself in the passenger seat of the jeep, riding with Lance over to the mansion so they could pick up Jamie.

"It's weird" She said, her breath coming out of her mouth like cigarette smoke. "I feel like a parent after a divorce – coming over to pick the kid up for the weekend."

"Well, he's not staying for the whole weekend" Lance smacked his lips. "We don't have enough food to feed another person and no money to buy more."

"As if I would let my brother stay at the house" She rolled her eyes, sticking her gloved hands underneath her armpits.

They parked outside the gate, waiting to be let in when something started to move at rapid speed in their direction. Violette was about to zap it when the thing hit the snow on the other side of the gate, revealing itself to be a blond teenage boy with Jamie by his side, both of them laughing.

"Violette!" Jamie smiled brightly at her, chuckling. "Have you met Sam?"

Sam raised his hand in greeting and smiled sheepishly, before going back to the Institute the same way he came.

"We call him Cannonball" Her brother ran over to her as soon as the opening gates allowed him to.

"Oh really?" She chuckled, ruffling his hair. "And what do they call you, _mon frère_?"

"Multiple" He raced over to the jeep. "That is so cool, can I drive?"

"Nope" Lance shook his head.

"Shotgun then?"

"In your dreams, it doesn't have a seatbelt" Violette pushed him towards the back. "I have to return you in one piece, or else they'll never let me take you to the house again."

Jamie sighed but climbed into the backseat, fastening his seatbelt under Violette's watchful eye.

"So, are you sure you two aren't dating?" Jamie cleared his throat. Lance started to choke on his spit, as Violette laughed.

"Course not!" She winked at her brother. "Lance's got his eye on Kitty."

"Violette!"

"What? Everyone already knows that!"

Lance may have been a bit annoyed, but it got Jamie to laugh. And that was her goal all along.

When they parked in the front of the Boarding House, Pietro and Tabitha were already building forts throwing snow at each other every once in a while.

"Ladies and gentlemen" Lance jumped out of the jeep, stuffing the keys into his pocket. "I give you, Multiple."

"May we no longer crave more people to play with" Violette turned to Jamie, smiling.

"Okay!" Pietro clapped his hands, beckoning Freddy. "Come on. Ladies first."

"Maybe I'll start for a change" Tabby blew him a kiss and smirked. "Jamie."

"Violette."

"Lance."

"Freddy."

Somehow during picking their teams, the captains started to get closer to each other until they were almost chest-to-chest.

"Ekhem" Lance cleared his throat, tugging Tabby towards their fort. Pietro stuck his tongue out, before motioning for his team to gather.

"Violette, Freddy" He took a deep breath. "I have trust in you: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. Failure is not an option."

"Did you just quote _Saving Private Ryan_?" Freddy scratched his head.

"He for sure quoted _Apollo 13_ " Violette sighed, shaking her head. "Pietro, the least you could do was come up with an original speech."

"As if you could do better" He huffed, rolling his eyes. "Whatever, let's kick their butts."

She and Freddy saluted, chuckling. Violette made a couple of snowballs and put them aside, taking off her gloves. They counted down and as soon as the first fistfuls of snow started to fly, she aimed at Tabby's fort and let her powers do the rest. Tabby started to laugh maniacally and sent one of her bombs their way.

"Cover!" Pietro took it in his hands and threw behind them, the bomb exploding mid-air.

"Serves you right, bitches!" Tabby's snowball hit Pietro straight in the face. "Keep your cool, Speedy."

They went at it for a good hour before they called a truce, walking in to change clothes and warm up.

"Guys, we have to do this again sometime" Boom Boom walked into the kitchen and threw her arms around Violette's neck from behind, chuckling. "See ya in January."

"You going somewhere?" Pietro raised his head up from his tea.

"Yeah" She shrugged, pointing towards the entryway. Her duffel bag was sitting against the wall, stuffed to the brim. "I have to visit my mom and all that" Tabitha kissed Violette's cheek, before moving onto the rest of the boys. To Jamie's kiss, she threw in an extra hug and hair ruffle. "Now, I wouldn't want to miss my train. Merry Christmas, you lot."

Violette took a sip from her cup, counting down in her head.

"Tabby, wait!" Lance shot up from his seat, tripping over his own legs to get to the doors. "I'll drop you off!"

"I guess that's our cue to leave" Violette smirked.

"Oh, okay" Jamie drank the rest of his hot chocolate and stood up. "Bye guys."

"See ya later, dawg" Todd nodded at him from his place next to the heater. Freddy waved, while Pietro just nodded in their general direction, frowning.

"What's gotten into him?" Jamie whispered to her, raising his eyebrows.

"Typical Pietro" She shrugged, passing him his jacket. "One second he's happy, another he's sulking. I swear, he changes his moods faster than he runs."

* * *

The winter was harsh for them. There were bills that needed to be paid and no money at all. After she spent three hours pickpocketing at the mall, it still barely covered one of them. Even with Pietro and Todd's help, they didn't have enough money to pay the bills _and_ eat. They had to decide what they needed the most- food, electricity, or heat. They decided that they would manage without TV and heat for a month.

And that was how they ended up piled up on the couch, all of them squishing Todd in between their bodies. Because of his amphibian-like body, he wasn't reacting well to the cold in general and the fact that their heating got turned off wasn't really helping him. She wrapped her arms closer around him, hoping that the three sweaters she gave him would help him at all. She sewed the holes in one pair of his jeans with patches of some material she had lying around her closet, so he wouldn't freeze to death and Lance gave him one of his warmest jackets, while Freddy wrapped him in his scarves. She felt Fred shift underneath them. She was sitting on his thigh, Todd curled up in her lap, with Lance and Pietro hugging them from both sides. All dignity and ego gets shoved aside when it's a heat-less winter in New York.

She rested her head on Lance's shoulder, about to doze off. Pietro's even breathing was lulling her to sleep, his breath warming her ear. None of them really had any hats and Tro gave his only earmuffs to Todd.

"I h-hate it, yo."

She chuckled, nuzzling in Lance's jacket.

"I know, Todd" She sighed, feeling Lance wrap his arms tighter around her, letting her rest her weight on him. "We all do."

They didn't leave the Boarding House until Christmas Eve. She planned on going to the X-Mansion, to give Jamie a present she had for him for years now, when she noticed something.

Todd was shivering in his sleep, his fingertips almost white.

If they were going to stay here, Todd would lose his fingers and toes.

She mulled it over. She knew a place that could help them but… Boys would hate it. They'll probably just ignore the idea, or worse, react badly.

She touched Todd's fingertip, wincing at the cold skin.

' _Fuck this_.'

She woke up the boys when she climbed off the couch, shivering at the loss of the warmth they provided. She picked up the box next to the couch.

"We have to crash at the X-geeks'."

They stared at her, eyes wide open. Pietro burst into laughter.

"Good joke. Now, come back or you'll freeze to death."

"Exactly. Look at Todd's fingers. He'll lose them if we stay here" She wrapped her hands around herself, rubbing her arms up and down fast, hoping to create enough friction to warm them up. "I don't like it any more than you do, but look at him."

The boys complied. The youngest member of the Brotherhood was a pitiful sight, his small body shivering with every breath of the icy air he took. Freddy swallowed.

"I'm in" He got up, wrapping Todd in the blanket they all used to cover up themselves and carrying him bridal style.

"D-don't I g-get a say in t-this, yo?" He got out, his voice weak.

"You don't even feel your fingers, Todd. You can't walk, for god's sake" She turned to the boys on the couch. "Come on, it's not like they're all gonna be there. Most of them probably went back to their families and all."

Lance bit his lip, before getting up and wincing, his muscles not used to moving after the weekend on the couch.

"Pietro" She pleaded. "I understand, pride and all that, but please, you'll freeze here."

The boy swallowed, before nodding.

"Okay, let's go" He said, leading the way. He opened the door and winced at the knee-high snow in front of the door. "Does the jeep work?"

"I don't know" Said Lance, walking over to his car and getting in. Someone up there had to love them, cause she head the familiar rumble of the engine. "Okay guys, we just have to get rid of some of the snow and we'll be ready to go."

Freddy put Todd in the back of the jeep, where she joined him. Freddy sat next to them, Todd in between them. Pietro ran around in a circle for a second, before zipping to the road and back, paving the way out and jumping into his seat.

"Some of it was pretty hard" He curled up and started to rub his shins. "Must have iced over."

The ride to the institute was mostly silent, the engine of Lance's jeep the only sound on the road. When they reached the gates, Violette was surprised to see them open themselves. Professor had to already dig through their minds and see their intentions. She shivered, but it wasn't due to the cold.

They came to a stop in front of the front door, where Xavier was already waiting for them, with Beast on his side. Lance was the first one to leave the car, accepting Todd from Freddy and carrying him bridal style towards Xavier, before stopping. He was about to open his mouth when the man stopped him.

"To be honest, we weren't expecting you" He said, folding his hands in his lap. "Never the less, we're glad to help. We'd be happy if you stayed even after it warms up, but whatever you need, we're happy to assist."

"It's for Todd" Said Freddy, climbing out. She jumped out, landing on the icy ground and slipping. Pietro caught her arm before she could hit the ground, before slipping on a patch of ice right next to her, causing both of them to fall.

"Stupid sneakers" She looked at her shoes with a glare. "Shit, you alive, Tro?"

"Just a bit of a headache" He groaned, rubbing the back of his head. Violette got up and heard a muffled yell.

"What was that?"

"I dunno" She offered him a hand and he accepted, getting up. "God, I can't believe we almost didn't move for two days. My knees are killing me, it wasn't that bad since I was a kid."

"The joys of early mutation" She sighed, getting the snow off her jacket.

She heard someone run towards her, so she quickly turned around, smiling widely when she saw her brother.

"Jamie!"

He hugged her.

"What're you doing here?" He asked, his blue eyes sparkling.

"My, my, you're almost as tall as me now" She was six inches taller, but who counted? "And to answer your question, it's Christmas, my dear _frère_ , the time of year you spend with your family, and I've brought mine here" She didn't have the heart to tell him that it was because their heating was off. "I've got a present for you."

She knew he didn't have a bunch of things from back when he lived with his parents. When that monster was taken care of, he was halfway across the country in the institute. He was literally taken from his house when he was unconscious and put in the system if it wasn't for the fact that his powers just emerged, she'd probably lose him forever. She couldn't help but feel as if she owed the X-geeks big time.

She turned towards the jeep and got out the box. She gave it to him, a small smile on her face.

She knew the boys were still talking to the Professor only a few feet from them.

Jamie opened the boy with a curious look on his face, before smiling widely.

"No freaking way" He dropped the box, Ted in his hands. "You kept it?"

"Course I did" She laughed. "You'd think that after only six years I got rid of this guy?" She saw the tears in her brother's eyes. "In a perfect state, maybe except for the color. Mom would kill me if she saw how grey he's gotten over the years."

"Yeah" He sniffed, looking up at her. "Thanks."

She wrapped her arm around his shoulders.

"Now, will you show me where your room is? I can't believe I still haven't seen it, _mon petit garçon."_

"Will you teach me French?"

"I'll try, Jamie, I'll try."

* * *

Lance watched Violette walk away with her brother. He turned back to Xavier, shifting Todd in his arms.

"Thank you."

It wasn't like him to say that, but it felt like a right thing to do. They walked into the mansion.

"Rogue will show you to your rooms. Most of the students went back home, so I'm sure we can give each of you your own rooms, at least until they all come back" Just as the Professor closed his mouth, a rather annoyed looking Rogue came down the stairs.

"C'mon, losers" She rolled her eyes, leading the way.

* * *

"Do you have buche de Nol here?" She asked Jamie, picking up one of his action figures.

"That was the cake we ate really late, right?" He sat on his bed. "I don't remember much. Father banned anything French or Southern after you left."

"What?" She turned to him, her face showing her hurt. "We only had le reveillon and occasionally some food!"

"He said that this 'whole French nonsense' made you, well" He glanced down at his lap. "He liked to call you a couple of nasty names then."

"He was a bastard" She sat down next to him. "So, does that mean that you don't have anything French for Christmas?"

"N-no" He swallowed, saddening.

"Damn, even I put a freaking Nativity crèche in the Boarding House. Don't worry, my dear _frère,_ I'll show you everything I know."

"What does it mean?" He asked, looking up at her. "You keep calling me _frère._ What does it mean?"

"Brother" She answered, getting up. "Now, show me where the kitchen is. We're gonna make a cake."

He grabbed her wrist and tugged her out of the room and down the stairs. They passed by Rogue and the boys, both of them smiling.

"What are you two up to?" Asked the goth girl, clearly not happy that she was the one showing the boys around.

"We're gonna make a buche de Nol!" Replied Jamie, making a sharp turn.

"Bless you" Pietro rolled his eyes at Fred's response.

"It's French, Blob. They'll make some kind of food, for sure."

They didn't stick around long enough to hear Fred's reply, but she was pretty sure he wasn't protesting.

Violette liked to cook every once in a while and when she did it meant less money was spend on food, which was a good thing since their cash was a little… limited. Turns out home-cooked meals were cheaper than fast food.

She looked around the spacey kitchen, impressed. She hasn't seen such a nice and homey one since she ran away.

"Okay, let's do this" She turned to Jamie, before slapping his arm. It created five duplicates. "Jamie one, I need sugar. Jamie two, six eggs. Jamie three, chocolate, but make it bittersweet. Jamie four, whipped cream. Jamie five, vanilla extract. Jamie six, cocoa powder. Go, Jamies, go!"

They scattered around the kitchen, opening almost every cupboard they could find. When they finally got it all, she asked them for butter, a baking pan, and parchment paper. After they laid it out in front of her, Jamie called in his duplicates.

"Okay, you have to butter the pan, then put in the paper, then butter and flour the paper. Easiest job imaginable. Show me where the bowls are and get to work."

He saluted, smiling

"Yes, ma'am."

He pointed the right cabinet and then started to butter the pan. She smiled at him, separating the whites and the yolks.

She heard the door open before someone gasped. She turned around, smiling at Cyclops' dropped jaw. Time to mess with the guy.

"Hey there, _roomie_. We're baking a cake, wanna join?"

Scott looked around the kitchen, then at Jamie, then back at her. He closed his mouth, before asking.

"What _the hell_ are you doing here?"

"I already told you, I'm baking a cake! It's Christmas, you know! Time to forget about our differences and cherish our similarities, while the world is so pure and white."

"What really happened?"

"We didn't have money to pay the bills so they cut our heating. Todd got first-degree frostbite. If we stayed at the Boarding House any longer, we'd freeze to death. Happy?" She covered the eggs and took the chocolate in her hand. "Now, would you pass me a saucepan? I have no freaking idea where you keep what, and I have to melt this."

It was visible that he was biting his tongue to not say anything stupid in front of Jamie. He opened the cupboard right next to him and passed her the pan.

"Thank you" She said, walking over to the tap and filling it with water. "Would you be a dear and give me an electric mixer? I'll need it and as I said, I have no idea where's what."

He complied, before walking out of the room, no doubt to call Miss Perfect and complain to her about how life was unfair and everyone just loved to make it worse for him.

"Done!" Jamie put the pan on the table, turning to her. "You were really about to freeze to death?"

"Only a bit" She answered, breaking the chocolate into a bowl and placing it on the simmering water. "You know, Todd's a… Toad, so he doesn't really like the cold. At all. Can you preheat the oven? 350 degrees."

* * *

Buche de Nol was in the oven, the two of them sitting cross-legged in front of it.

"So, how was life?" She couldn't believe they didn't talk about this before.

"Difficult" He shrugged, twiddling his thumbs. "Mom had to sell most of her jewelry to feed us two. Father occasionally gave her some money, but it was very unusual."

"I'm sorry" Violette took a deep breath. "For leaving you there."

"I'm not" Jamie turned to her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Why not? Life was so hard for you."

"It had to be. Otherwise, we wouldn't learn a thing about it, I guess."

She hugged him to her, chuckling.

* * *

The Christmas dinner was incredibly awkward. Although the Professor and Dr. McCoy acted nice and civil and Jamie seemed to be on cloud nine, Summers and Rogue couldn't possibly be less pleased with their sworn enemies across the table from them.

Storm left some Christmas dishes in the fridge before she left and Kitty send some cookies none of them felt okay with eating. Still, she and Fred spent some time cooking their own favorite dishes while singing off-key carols. It almost felt as if they were back home, except for the shiny kitchen and stylish china.


	14. II: Running Away From Problems Just Brings More Problems

They left as soon as temperature turned from nineteen to thirty-seven degrees, good enough for them not to die inside their own home. Boom Boom was already back, layers upon layers of material covering her usually exposed skin. They didn't answer her questions about where they were, instead shoving a ton of containers filled with leftovers into her arms. When the heat and water got turned back on the next day, they all just promised themselves to repay Xavier someday. When they came back to school they couldn't look the X-geeks in the eye, instead opting for staying out of their sight.

That is, until Violette was woken up by a panicking Pietro, a messy note in his hand. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, taking the paper from him. After quickly reading it, she looked up at him, shock evident on her face.

* * *

Todd was sitting next to Pietro just staring straight ahead, while Freddy was in the kitchen, cooking his stress away. Violette tried to calm Tabby down but to no avail.

"That stupid fucking cunt!" Tabitha turned over their coffee table with one of her well-aimed kicks. "How dare he leave us right now?! A so-called 'leader'! I'll fucking kill him!" She let out a scream, before turning to Pietro. "How come you didn't notice a fucking thing, Sonic?"

"He had to sneak out before I woke up" Pietro ran his hand through his hair, growling. "That idiot probably stayed up all night just to achieve that."

"Dudes" They all turned to Todd. "He didn't take his guitar, yo."

The instrument stood in its usual place next to the TV, untouched.

"That son of a bitch" Violette's hands formed into fists, her nails painfully biting into the skin of her palm.

"Why would he do that?" Tabby's anger seemed to slowly fade, leaving room for confusion.

"Its psychology or somethin" Freddy came into the room, wiping his hands with a kitchen cloth. "Maybe he subconsciously doesn't expect to stay away for long."

"So basically he expects us to wait for him to sort his shit out?" As if by a flick of a switch, Boom Boom went back to being furious. "Oh, let me tell you something. Tabitha Smith does not wait for anybody."

She almost smashed the guitar to pieces, but Violette held her back while Toad grabbed the instrument with his tongue, hopping away.

* * *

Jamie groaned, putting his pillow over his head as the mansion's defense alarm went off. He sighed and waited for it to turn off or for someone to send a distress signal so he could get his butt into gear and evacuate. Those moments between thinking there may be a danger ahead, and knowing it, were the worst. Thankfully, this time it must have been a false alarm.

When he woke up that same morning he went downstairs as usual, still half asleep before getting anything sugary sweet into himself. He passed the huge queue outside the bathroom and went downstairs to the kitchen, trying very hard to keep his eyes open. He finally stumbled in, accepting the cup of juice someone gave him.

"Knew you didn't like orange, so I guessed apple."

Jamie's throat seemed to not work as well as usual, so the juice ended up way closer to his lungs than he was used to.

"Lance!" The older mutant took the cup back when he saw it almost slipped out of Jamie's hands. "H-how do you know I don't like OJ?"

"Violette took you to McDonald's couple of months ago. The untouched cup of juice stayed in my jeep for a while until it spilled. Told her she had to clean it up and had to personally supervise. She likes to talk when she's pissed."

"Oh" He nodded, hitting his own chest a couple of times and looking around. Everyone in the kitchen stared at Lance, maybe except for Mr. Logan, who as usual read his newspaper and drank his black coffee. "So, I don't want to sound rude but, what are you doing here?"

"Trying my best at being one of the good guys" Lance shrugged. Jamie carefully took the cup from his hands, surprised Lance knew which one was his. The older boy seemed to notice his confusion and scratched the back of his head. "I've been here for Christmas. I'm observant."

It seemed a bit creepy if Jamie had to be honest, but still, maybe that's what the Brotherhood needed. Someone who cares enough to know everything about them, someone kind of responsible.

' _Wait.'_

"You left the Brotherhood? _Alone_?"

"Well, yeah."

Jamie clenched his jaw and put down his cup, before throwing a punch.

Normally, Jamie would miss terribly and probably trip midway through but hell, usually he'd never punch anyone. But Lance was leaning back on the counter, barefoot and thanks to that their height difference weren't nearly as massive, plus, Lance would never expect him to do that.

And neither did anyone else, but before he could sock him again, Sam and Bobby grabbed him by his arms and tried to escort him out of the kitchen while he trashed in their holds. Kitty ran over to Lance with an icepack, but he just shook his head, rubbing his jaw.

* * *

Jamie sat shotgun with his arms crossed over his chest while Miss Munroe gripped the steering wheel tighter, biting her lip.

"Jamie, you can't punch anyone, even if it's a Brotherhood member."

"That's the thing, Miss Munroe" He sighed. "He's not a Brotherhood member anymore. He left them all alone! Who does that? How are they gonna survive? I mean, sure, they have my sister but Lance was the one keeping eye on their money and bills and food and all that stuff!" He turned to her, his eyes showing how much he was truly concerned about the rival team. "It's like if you, the Professor, Doctor McCoy and Mr. Logan all left us with Jean and Scott! Yeah, sure we'd get by for a while but they don't know how to do adult stuff!"

The woman laughed, pulling over in front of the Junior High.

"Still, could you please not get into any fights from now on? I'm sure the Brotherhood will be alright."

"If you say so" He unbuckled his seatbelt and put on his backpack, getting out of the car. "Have a nice day Miss Munroe!"

"You too Jamie" She watched the boy walk in, shaking her head. "You too."

* * *

Violette knew the rest of the Brotherhood was planning to corner Lance before the first period, but she didn't feel like facing him. Instead, she ditched English – although, she had to admit, she became awfully fond of spending the first period in the presence of one blue X-Man – for cigarettes.

She lit one up underneath the bleachers, staring absentmindedly at people less fortunate than her, poor souls that started their day off with Gym. Every Gym teacher seemed to think that as soon as the snow melted, it was time to force their class to exercise outside again.

She was lost in her thoughts when someone just a few feet away from her caught her eye. She looked at the boy, recognizing the blonde guy Jamie seemed to like. Violette unceremoniously walked over and grabbed him by his shirt, yanking him towards her hide-out.

"Oh! Um, hi, could you maybe-"

"How is Lance doing?"

The boy seemed a bit lost for a second, clearing his throat and looking around. After seeing that he had no way to escape from her interrogation, he sighed.

"Jamie hit him."

Violette's cigarette slipped through her fingers. The boy stepped onto it, although the grass was still too wet to catch fire.

"What?"

"They were talking and suddenly Jamie just went mad or something. It left a small bruise on Lance's jaw, but nothing major."

She blinked a couple of times and quietly thanked the boy for his time. Only when he left she allowed herself to shiver.

Jamie hit someone. Her sweet Jamie hit someone.

' _What if he turns into another Daniel?'_

Violette quickly swatted that thought away.

' _He couldn't. He wouldn't.'_

' _Would he?'_

* * *

"You skipped English."

Violette jumped at the sound of his voice. She was walking towards her locker, lost in thought since that morning,

"I had to clear my head" ' _Too bad it only made things worse.'_ "I heard you lot were very welcoming."

"I was surprised Scott wasn't the first to punch him" Kurt leaned against the lockers next to her, while she struggled with her lock. "But other than that, the New Recruits seem to like him."

"Why do I still wonder how you can sound so surprised while talking about Lance not being such a bad guy?" She finally opened her locker, thankful that nothing fell out and hit her. "He has a good heart and all that shit. He's responsible. And he wants to leave his past with the Brotherhood behind" She sighed, taking out her Social Studies book and slamming the door shut. "He's probably still his usual fuck-all-the-rules self, but I bet he's playing by them anyway."

Kurt nodded, licking his lips.

"Anyway, I don't think he'll fit in" He put his hands in his pockets, leading her towards their class. "Scott won't let him." 

* * *

"Come on, guys" Jamie whined, tugging Jubilee's sleeve. "I want to go!"

"Sorry, little man" Sam messed up his hair, smiling. "It won't be a stealth mission if there's a crowd onboard."

All of his dupes sighed, turning back. Jamie tried to make an even more powerful puppy-stare, but they were immune.

"Go to bed Jamie" Bobby rolled his eyes as the elevator door opened. "You haven't seen us."

Jamie pouted until the doors closed and then turned around, slowly walking back to his room.

"Jamie!" His eyes widened. ' _Damn it.'_ "Where's the rest?"

He chuckled nervously, turning towards Lance's voice, surprised to see Kitty with him. Jamie quite successfully avoided him since the whole kitchen incident and mostly forgot about the whole thing after Violette called and had a serious talk with him. _More like seriously scary and emotional talk._

"T-they took the elevator-"

"Crap!" Lance ran towards the stairs, tugging Kitty with him.

Jamie shook his head, hoping that he'll avoid whatever punishment will await Bobby, Jubilee, and Sam when Mr. Logan will find out.

* * *

"You are such a scumbag! I'll fucking rip your throat out!"

"When do you think she'll stop grilling his ass?" Violette crunk up the volume of their TV, before lighting her cigarette.

Pietro sighed, setting his feet on their coffee table.

"I'd give it another hour or so" He took the remote from her, changing the channel. "He fucked up majorly."

"We knew he'll come back either way" She shrugged, taking a drag. "He'll always come back here."

* * *

Living with four very different guys was a great experience. Violette learned a lot about values, loyalty, and responsibility thanks to the fact that they all happened to be complete morons most of the time.

It was a typical day in the Boarding House, maybe except for the fact that Todd happened to take his monthly shower. Earlier that morning Violette woke up to find that Pietro stole her chapstick and used up all of her shampoo, Lance used one of her shirts to wipe off the oil he was covered in after repairing his Jeep and Todd accidentally slimed her bedroom door shut. She decided that it was no use to wait for the boys inside or she'd definitely rip their heads off – except for Freddy because Freddy didn't do anything bad, quite the contrary, he made her some chocolate-chip pancakes – so she sat in the front-seat of Lance's car listening to Nirvana.

"Sup, Violette" Tabby hopped into the driver's seat, starting the engine.

"What are you doing?"

"Driving, can't you see?" She changed gears and hit the gas. Violette quickly grabbed the console, her eyes widening.

"Holy shit! Couldn't you warn me like a normal person?!" She tried to outshout Kurt Cobain but it seemed to her that she was failing miserably. "Lance is so gonna kill us!"

"He'd better watch out, cause I may kill him first!" Tabitha was obviously still pissed about him joining the X-Men.

The usual fifteen-minute drive turned into five minutes, which wasn't very surprising considering the fact that Boom Boom liked to break all the traffic regulations she could.

Before Violette was able to breathe at a normal pace again, Tabby already kissed her cheek, winked and jumped out, taking the keys with her.

* * *

"How did you even- I mean- She almost killed me!" She dropped her backpack onto their desk, falling down onto her chair.

"Woah, woah, slow down, who are you talking about?" Kurt raised his eyebrow when he saw how her hair was sticking out in different directions. "Nevermind that, what happened to you?"

"Boom Boom took over the Jeep" She sighed, running her hands down her face. "She drives as fast as you'd expect."

"Let me just" He pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, his fingers brushing lightly against her cheek. Her eyes snapped open. She felt her skins redden and her breath quicken. "Maybe if you'd tie it in a ponytail or something it'd be better, _ja_?"

"Yeah, good idea" She opened her backpack and tried to hide her face in it, while simultaneously looking for a hair tie.

* * *

Skipping US History was Violette's second nature by now. She'd sit in the backseat of Lance's jeep for the whole hour, listening to music and sometimes doodling. And everything would be fine and dandy if not for Tabitha, who jumped into the car and opened the door for her X-Men friend.

"Ykhm" Violette leaned towards them, sticking her head between the seats. "And who are _you_?"

"I'm Amara" The girl uncertainly stuck out her hand. Violette shook it, before turning to her roommate.

"So, why is Amara here?"

"We're going shopping" Tabby clicked her tongue, taking the keys out of her pocket. "You wanna come?"

"No, I don't wanna-"

"Too bad!" The blonde started the car and Violette knew better than to stay in the position she was currently in. She grabbed the seatbelt and quickly fastened it, praying for her life. "You better hold onto your hat, Mara, cause it's gonna be a bumpy ride!" 

* * *

"I'm never letting you drive again" Violette stormed into the mall, panting.

"Oh come on, it was fun!" Tabby chuckled, looping her arm over Violette's. "And you got to fry one of their tires."

"Oh I'm not talking about that, that was awesome" She shook her head. "I'm talking about the fact that you almost ran over twenty people."

"Well, what is life without a little bit of danger, they should thank me" Tabitha also took a hold of one of Amara's arms, steering them towards the music store. "Jean, you coming?"

"Yeah, yeah" The redhead sighed, following them.

To be honest, Violette had a lot of fun shopping with them and when asked if she'd be up to another outing the next day, she said she'd be looking forward to it.

* * *

She had no idea how Tabitha talked them all into this.

"Leather pants and a matching jacket? Really?" Violette walked out of the changing room, uncertain. "As if people didn't call me a dyke already."

"You look hot" Tabby winked, chuckling. "We all do."

"What can I say" Rogue turned around, looking at her own reflection behind her shoulder. "Those pants do incredible things to my butt."

"And I look like I have, like, so much boobs" Kitty looked down on her cleavage, laughing. "Damn."

"Holy shit, I feel so powerful in those shoes."

"Okay, enough with the staring" Jean smirked, putting her arm around Amara. "Time to kick some butts, ladies style!"

The Nova Roman princess blew one last kiss to her own reflection, still mesmerized by her red boots.

* * *

Sadly, the fun was quickly over. Just a week later Violette's life was back to normal, although she started to hang out with Tabitha way more than ever before.

She walked into her English class and smirked when she saw that Kurt was already there, doing his homework.

"Well, isn't that my knight in shining armor" She sat down next to him, taking out her books.

"I have no idea what you're talking about" He turned to her, smiling.

"Oh, I'm sure you do" Violette chuckled, taking his paper from him and crossing out the 'u' in honor. "And just so you know, girl power is the best shit in the world. Here you are."

"Thanks, I'm still not used to American spelling" He took it back, writing down as much as he could remember from the last lesson. "The 130 Sonnet was about Shakespeare loving a girl despite her not being perfect?"

"More like making fun of the weird comparisons writers used to describe women."

"What would I possibly do without you?" He laughed, scribbling something down.

Her mouth immediately went dry while her heart started to beat a bit harder. She giggled nervously, running her hand through her hair.

"I have no idea." 

* * *

"Violette! Jamie's calling!"

Her eyes snapped open. She groaned and turned onto her back, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"On a second thought, don't come down!"

Violette ran out of her room as quick as she could while still being half asleep and froze in the kitchen doorway when she saw Pietro chatting on the phone with her brother.

"What is it?"

"They can't find Red and Summers got the idea that maybe we kidnapped her" He explained, cocking his hip to the side and laughing at something Jamie said. "Oh yes, sounds about right."

"What sounds about right?" She opened the fridge, taking out orange juice.

"Nothing, we're just talking about you."

"Oh, then go ahead! Don't mind me" She rolled her eyes, opening one of the cabinets and taking out a glass. "Maybe you two can, I don't know, start a club or something, meet every Friday to talk about me behind my back."

She poured the juice into the glass and started to quickly down it.

"Yeah, you were absolutely right, she's so touchy."

"Okay, I'm done" She threw the glass at him, but Pietro just caught it with a laugh. "I'm going back to sleep, asshole."


	15. II: Something Furry, Something New, Something Stolen, Something Blue

Violette looked up at the banner some of the students were hanging in the hall.

" _Sadie Hawkins dance, this Friday. Ladies' choice_ " She looked at Tabitha, rolling her eyes. "God, I hoped they would just forget about this one."

"Why is that?" The blonde was checking herself out in a mirror she put in her locker. "The fact that you were sad and lonely the last time was your own fault, it's _ladies' choice_ you know."

"Oh, you're just so funny" She adjusted the straps of her backpack. "Last time the only guy I'd let as much as put a hand on my shoulder was Todd and going with him would just be extremely _awkward_."

"Why, the boy's not as much of a pain in the ass as you'd think" Tabitha closed her locker, smirking.

"That I know" She led the way to the cafeteria, sighing. "It's just weird that when the dance ends you basically let the guy in, cause he _lives_ there."

"Ah, the rumors it would spread" The younger girl wrapped her arm around her shoulders. "You sure you don't want to ask Pietro?"

"Which part of the I-don't-want-to-start-rumors talk did you _not_ understand?" Violette took a hold of Tabby's hand and put it back in its place. "You ask him if you want to."

"Nah, I'll ask Freddy or Todd" She shrugged. "Pietro's ego wouldn't leave a space for me to breathe next to him, let alone _dance_ " Violette let her eyes drift to Kurt, who was talking with Scott near the boys' bathroom. "Ah, I see that after all, there _is_ someone you'd like to ask."

"Shut up, you don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure, _Wiolet_ " She said in a really bad German accent. "Either way, some girl's got her eye on him, Amanda or something-"

"Hey, Kurt!" Violette jogged up to the boys, smiling warmly. ' _Okay, don't panic_.' "Can we talk for a second?"

Kurt turned to Scott - who gave him a thumbs up and slowly made his way to the bathroom - and then nodded, offering her his full-blown, toothy smile.

"Sure, Violette" Tabitha's fake accent was nothing compared to the real thing.

"So, I was wondering if you already have a date for the Sadie Hawkins dance." She twirled a strand of her hair around her finger and smiled.

God, she was making herself sick.

" _Nein_ , no one asked me yet" He ran his hand through his hair nervously.

"Would you like to go with me?" She let go of the hair, biting her bottom lip.

"Of course!" He cleared his throat, blushing. "I mean, yes, sure."

"Sweet!" She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, the fur tickling her lips. "I'll pick you up around seven."

She turned around and walked back to a smirking Tabitha.

"Quite a sight, the both of you. And the hair game, _man_."

"Shut your trap, Boom Boom" She pointed her finger accusingly at the girl. "It's your fault that we have to go shopping now." 

* * *

"It's pointless" She groaned, hanging one of the dresses back on its rightful place – on its hanger and away from her body. "I look awful."

"Oh, come on" Tabby quickly came into the changing room, ignoring Violette's protests. "Let me take a look at this."

"Do you even _know_ what privacy _is_?"

"Yeah and I don't care" Tabby took a hold of the strapless one she chose for Violette earlier and without a shadow of doubt unhooked Violette's bra.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" She started to reach back but the blonde just slapped her hand away.

"Making you try on this one" She shoved the dress over her head and took her bra the rest of the way off. "See? You're looking pretty, V."

Violette uncertainly looked at her reflection, adjusting the dress. It reached her knees, the skirt flaring away from her body. It was mostly black, with a straight line of brown material in the front, covered by black roses made out of lace.

She licked her lips, turning around and noticing that the skirt rose to the middle of her thighs in process.

"We need some shoes to go with it, a strapless bra and we're _done_ " Tabby smiled, walking out. Violette changed back into her clothes. "Now, don't worry about the price, I've got it covered."

She knew that Tabby probably robbed a few of the other clients to pay for the dresses, but she didn't care. She really did look pretty in it.

They arrived at the Boarding House after a quick stop for coffee and donuts. They got their bags out and Tabitha tossed the keys to Lance, who was standing in the doorway with a frown on his face. Violette heard Todd and Fred shouting in the living room. Lance sighed and went in there.

"I'll put these in my room" The blonde girl went upstairs, while Violette went in and put her bags next to the stairs, walking into the room.

"Hey, Kitty, Kitty!" Todd was jumping around, chuckling. Lance was looking a bit pissed, sitting in the armchair, while Pietro was laying on the couch in silence, smirking. Violette smiled knowingly and sat on the end of the couch, near the boy's legs.

"What's up, boys?" Tabby came in and sat on the armrest of the chair.

"Kitty Pryde asked Lancey here to the Sadie Hawkins!" Fred laughed, shoving a handful of chips into his mouth

"Meow, meow" The girl chuckled, elbowing Lance. "What's gonna happen _after_ the dance, ey?"

"Lancey-boy got a new girlfriend" Todd messed up Lance's hair.

"We wouldn't be caught dead at that stupid dance!" Freddy tossed his chips aside.

"Yeah" Todd high-fived him.

"Really?" Tabby put her hands on her hips. "That's too bad. Cause I was thinking about asking _you_!" She leaned in, smirking.

"Y-You were?"

Violette heard Pietro chuckle and slapped his shin.

"Yeah, but if you don't wanna go…" She got up, shrugging.

"Oh, ask me! I'll go!" Todd jumped in the air, waving his hand around.

"Pathetic" Pietro started to laugh.

"Hey, speedy" Tabby walked over to them, leaning over Pietro with a seductive smile. "You think you're too good for me?"

Violette felt a bit awkward when he answered her with the same smile. She got up and walked over to Lance, elbowing him in the side and nodding towards the pair.

"Nah, you just couldn't keep up with me" Pietro sat up, his face dangerously close to Tabitha's. Lance chuckled, mouthing 'Pietro and Tabby sitting in a tree'. "I mean, I could keep four girls busy dancing at the same time" Pietro got off the couch and made a quick circle around the room.

"Well, alright!" Tabby spun around till she reached the center of the room and started to dance. "Let's all go and show that school how to Party! Woo ho!"

"Yeah, let's do this, yo!" Todd, Freddy, and Pietro joined her, while Lance turned back to Violette.

"You going?"

"Yeah" She nodded, sitting on the armrest. "Even got a date."

"Who did you ask?" He raised his eyebrow.

"Kurt Wagner."

"The fuzzy blue pet?"

"Oi, he's not a pet."

"Nah, just your new boy-toy" He mimicked Tabitha, even putting his finger under her chin.

"Shut up, _Lancey_ " She mocked him. "Does Kit Kat know about your _songs_?"

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me." 

* * *

"I'm nervous."

"Course you are, sweetie. It's your first dance with a guy" Tabby put down the brush, smiling. "Blue will _die_ when he sees you."

"I hope it's not from fright" Violette opened her eyes, blinking at her face in the mirror. "What did you do to me?"

"It's called make-up, _duh_ " Tabitha rolled her eyes. "Now go out there and get him."

Violette rolled her eyes and walked out of her room, knocking on Lance's door. He opened the door, buttoning his shirt.

"You finally ready?" He looked up and froze.

"Tabby, don't ask" She suddenly felt very insecure.

"Nah, you look… Good" He nodded, putting on his jacket. "Just, normally you don't… Not that you don't… You know?"

"Hope you're better with compliments when it comes to Kitty, or she'll dump your sorry ass before you two even start to date" She walked up to him and unbuttoned the top two buttons, messing up his hair. "Now it's better."

"It's _messy_."

"Yeah, you look like you."

"The point of this was-"

"She likes you for you, okay?" Violette started to walk to the stairs, smiling. "Otherwise, she wouldn't have asked you out."

He sighed and followed her, saying something only when they opened the doors to his jeep.

"So you and fuzzy, huh?" He smirked, starting the engine. "Make sure not to get any fur in your mouth."

"Oh!" She slapped his arm, chuckling. "You dirty bastard! It's not even really a _date_ , let alone _Pietro_ kind of date."

"Pietro kind of date?" Lance laughed, backing the car out of the driveway. "Never heard of that one."

"You know" She took a hold of her hair to make sure the ride won't mess it up. "When the guy buys the girl food and then she sleeps with him."

"Ah, _that_ kind of date" He changed gears. "I was talking about kissing, you know."

"Sure you were."

They spent the rest of the ride in silence, listening to the radio. When they arrived at the institute, Lance parked in the front and they both got out, walking to the door of the mansion.

"You nervous?" She asked him, biting her lip.

"Yeah" He nodded, tugging on the collar of his shirt. "You?"

"Scared shitless" She looked at him. "Let's do this."

He reached for the doorbell, only to jump away when Kitty phased through the door with Kurt.

"Scott is not really pleased with me" She explained, dusting off her skirt. "Like, we're going or what?"

"Just…" Lance swept his eyes over her form. "You're beautiful."

Violette smiled at the pair, turning to her date. She could clearly see that Kurt was nervous, playing with the gloves on his hands.

' _Since when does he wear gloves?'_

"Well, you clean up nice" She put her hand on her hip. "Although, I'm not really sure why you're wearing gloves."

"I-I have a rash."

"Too bad" She walked up to him, raising her eyebrow. Thanks to her heels, they were almost eye-to-eye. "That I call bullshit on this excuse."

She looked him straight in the eyes, her own warm and open. Kurt sighed, taking them off.

"I thought that the fur-"

"Kurt, I asked you to this dance. This means that I'm more than okay with the fur" She took his hand, tugging him towards the jeep. "We wouldn't want to be late now, would we?"

* * *

The dance was pretty usual – the music was okay, the decorations were tacky and teachers lined up the walls, making sure none of the students were doing inappropriate things or something. She never quite understood the whole chaperone thing. If things got heated, the kids wouldn't just start doing things in the gym – at least she thought so – and instead, they'd move to the bathrooms or cars, especially since no one was checking the halls or the parking lot.

Kurt was uncomfortable during the whole ride, not really able to catch her gaze and trying to mend himself and the doors into one, which meant she couldn't even brush her fingertips against his. Now, he was still squirming and looking around.

"You know, if you don't want to be here" She pointed towards the door, making sure he knew they _could_ leave.

"Nein, I mean" He sighed and turned towards her, biting his lip. "I-I've never been to a dance with anyone before."

"Well, you're not the only one" She smiled, taking hold of his hand. "Now come on, I really like this song."

Violette guided him towards the center of the floor and started to move to the beat. She wasn't exceptionally good at dancing, but she was good enough not to make a fool out of herself. She opened her eyes and put her hands on her hips, seeing that Kurt was just standing awkwardly and looking around the room. He turned to her, smiling sheepishly.

"I'm not a dancer."

"Now that's a lie if I ever heard one" She hooked her arms behind his neck and smiled. "We both know you're quite the party animal, Kurt" She leaned in, toying with an idea that popped into her head suddenly. Her lips brushed his earlobe. "So why don't you show it?"

She took a step back, her eyes following his Adam's apple as he swallowed. Her smile widened when he started to dance and she quickly followed his lead.

* * *

Violette was standing next to the punch bowl when Tabby arrived, Todd and Freddy with her. She started to choke, causing Kurt to slap her on the back.

"What-" She gasped, putting down the cup. "What is Todd wearing?"

"Oi, I heard that yo!" Todd yelled in their general direction.

Kurt chuckled, quickly taking his hand off her back. The song changed into a slower one.

"Finally" She smiled, grabbing his hand and tugging him towards the dance floor.

She put her hands on his shoulders, while he uncertainly placed his hands a little below her waist.

She took a step closer, wrapping her arms around his neck, resting her chin on his shoulder and closing her eyes. She heard his breath catch in his throat, as he tightened his grip on her body.

"Isn't it nice" She murmured, his hair tickling her cheek. "Who'd have thought you'd accept _my_ invitation? Especially after the whole Boom-Boom drama."

"What do you mean?"

"I thought that you swore to never get close to the not so good girls, you know?" She snuggled closer to him. "I'm hardly the naughtiest one here, but I'm still a Brotherhood member."

"Well, first and foremost, you're you" He shrugged, smiling. "I mean, look at Lance and Kitty. They're doing okay. And we haven't really fought with you guys since October."

"Yeah, I suppose" She chuckled, looking over his shoulder. "Oh god no."

"What is it?" Kurt looked over his shoulder, worried.

"Pietro really did come with four girls."

"What?" He started to laugh. "No way."

"See for yourself" She pointed towards her teammate, who was busy flirting with all of them at the same time. "I have no idea how he does that. I had a problem with asking only one guy to the dance."

"You did?" Kurt looked back at her.

"Of course" Violette felt her cheeks turn red. "If it wasn't for the fact that Tabitha told me that you might get asked by someone else, I wouldn't have done it at all" She brushed some of her hair out of her face. "I just… Couldn't let you get snatched by some other girl and then regret missing my chance."

She looked straight into his eyes, the air around them suddenly getting stiffer and hotter. She saw him start to lean in and she licked her lips, slowly closing her eyes.

She heard shrilling screams as people around them started to run. They turned to the source of the disturbance.

There was a dinosaur in the middle of the floor, somewhere between Lance and Kitty, slowly making its way out of some kind of a portal.

The crowd forced the two of them to back up until they were right against a wall. Seeing others use their powers to stop the creature, she tried to raise the both of them into the air, but their combined weight was too much. She had trouble raising Todd high enough to throw him off the couch, and while Kurt was skinny, he was an acrobat – she couldn't lift 5'9" of muscles and teenage boy. She tried to blast the thing away, but it didn't seem to care.

"Kurt, come on, port us out!" She yelled, tugging him by the back of his suit. The creature was making its way towards them.

"I-I can't" She could hear the panic in his voice, but she knew they couldn't escape any other way. "When I port, I'm transported to the place this thing came from. I-I can't-"

"Kurt, look at me" He turned around, his fake eyes showing fear and uncertainty. "It's either this or we're dead. _Please_."

The boy briefly looked behind her shoulder and then wrapped his arms closely around her, porting them out.

Violette breathed a sigh of relief. Her knees turned to jelly as she tried to rest her weight back on her legs instead of Kurt.

"Wow, careful" His grip turned even tighter.

She felt herself melt against him. It was embarrassing, really, but she couldn't help herself. Whenever she was close to him her breathing turned heavy, while a weird warmth rushed through her whole body, making her blush bright red. The smell of sulfur mixed with a hint of musk and his cologne hypnotized her. She smiled brightly, nuzzling her head into his neck.

"God, we were almost eaten by a dinosaur" She started to laugh. "Shit, I deserve a treat after that. You up for a sundae? I got my allowance from mother dearest – I mean Lance."

"How about I pay?" He smiled into her hair, before letting go of her and offering her his hand.

"I knew there was a reason I asked you to this dance" Violette accepted it. She started to draw circles on the inside of his palm, enjoying the feel of soft fur under her finger. "Can you tell me what the heck you meant by saying you get transported to this dinosaur's place?"

"When I teleport, for a split second, I cross another dimension" He ran his hand through his hair, sighing. "It's full of lava and that's where the smell and smoke come from."

"But I don't get it" She took his other hand, interlacing their fingers. "You port since you were little, right? Shouldn't you be used to it?"

"I never knew. You remember last year when I disappeared and Todd got this weird gizmo? It was made by a young genius, Forge. He made another gizmo, one that slowed my porting down enough for me to look around."

"And to create a way for those things to come through" She nodded. "Okay, I get it now, you got scared shitless by a bunch of dinosaurs. I'd like to say that everyone experiences moments like that, but I'm pretty sure it's just you."

"Oh, ha, ha" He smirked. "As if you weren't scared."

"I wasn't."

"You forgot you could turn both of us invisible."

"I thought it would smell us either way!"

"Yeah, _sure_."

"Keep it up and you may as well say goodbye to your end of the date kiss."

"You're gonna kiss me?" He made a double take.

"I was going to, but now that you laugh at my expense" She crossed her arms over her chest. "What, you don't want me to kiss you?"

"No! I mean, yes! I mean-"

Violette stood on her tiptoes, delicately brushing her lips over his. She took a step back, smiling.

Kurt blinked a couple of times, shell-shocked.

"So, what about those sundaes?" She chuckled, stepping around him and starting to walk.

He took a hold of her shoulder and turned her around, leaning in and kissing her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, while his hands grabbed her waist, their bodies colliding.

* * *

"I'm sorry" Kitty looked to her right, cocking her head to the side. He continued. "I know it wasn't how you planned to spend the evening."

"It's hardly your fault" She took his hand, smiling. "And I had a great time up until this dinosaur popped in."

"I'd say, he came between us."

"Stop."

"Sorry."

She chuckled, leaning on his shoulder.

"We can still catch a movie or something. My curfew's not until midnight, and it's not even nine yet."

Lance wrapped his arm around her shoulder, holding her close to his body.

"How about this new chick flick? Back row?"

"You mean _A Walk to Remember_? Like, buy me sour patches and we have a deal." 

* * *

"You think they caught up?"

"Nah, they're not the brightest bunch."

"Either way, we should lay low. You've seen the two of them yesterday. They suspect something."

"Let them suspect all they want. We both know none of them would dare to say anything."

"I hope you're right."

"I'm always right."

"Whatever you say. Now come over here."


	16. II: The Beginning Is Always The Hardest, At Least That's What They Say

"So, you and Blue are together now?" Tabitha sat on their kitchen table, almost pushing over Violette's bowl of cereal.

"You could say that" Violette looked down at her breakfast, smiling. She still couldn't really get her head around the fact that she managed to get a guy like Kurt – someone who didn't have to worry about criminal records and paying rent. It was quite refreshing to be able to forget about those things for a while. "Actually, we're going out tomorrow."

"Why not today? Already got bored with such a goodie-two-shoes?" The blonde took Violette's glass of juice and hopped off the table.

"Actually, I found myself a job."

"What?" Tabby turned to face her, not expecting that at all.

"I'm babysitting" She took her bowl and drank the milk straight from it, something she regretted picking up from Todd. "What, Lance can't be the only one doing anything to pay the rent."

"Who let you take care of a child?"

"Jamie's friend's mother" She shrugged, putting the bowl in the sink and taking her glass from Boom Boom's hands. "She's taking Jamie and his friend somewhere and needed someone to take care of her four-year-old daughter, so Jamie called me and asked if I could do that."

"And you haven't invited him over because…?"

"Because I'll be babysitting, not an ideal scenario for a first date."

"Sure thang" Tabby put her chin on Violette's shoulder. "So where can we find you if anything happens?"

"I'll leave the address on the fridge, just… Don't come over, please, I don't want the lady to hate me."

"Don't worry, the Brotherhood won't even step a foot on the lawn."

"Thank you."

* * *

Missy, the girl Violette was taking care of, was one of the sweetest kids she ever spent time with. She loved to draw and play with Play-Doh and to be honest, Violette was perfectly fine with making tiny colorful cookies without the whole baking and eating part.

"So, Chef Missy" She turned to the girl, giving her a wonky cinnamon bun. "How about we eat some pizza?"

"Yeah!" Missy put down her own creation and gave Violette a bright smile. "Can we get the one with pineapples? Mom never gets the one with pineapples because Josh doesn't like them and we have to share."

"Of course, sweetie" Violette stood up, looking at the clock. "Okay, stay here where I can see you."

She ordered the pizza and sat back down to help the girl make a few cupcakes. They played for quite a while before she heard the doorbell ring. She gave the 'baked goods' to Missy before walking over to open the front door and froze.

"Hi" Kurt smiled brightly. "You ordered some pizza?"

* * *

Missy didn't seem to mind Kurt at all and when Violette asked her if her mom would flip out if he stayed he shook her head no, chewing her pizza.

So Violette called Missy's mother and explained the situation to her, holding her breath until the woman said that it was okay.

After hanging up she walked over to Kurt who was sitting on the couch with Missy in front of him watching cartoons.

"Okay Missy, two more and then it's time to go to bed" Violette crossed her arms over her chest.

"But 'Oilette!" Missy pouted, turning her big doe eyes towards her.

"Nuh-uh, no way" She chuckled, sitting next to the boy. "But if you're good enough, I can read you two stories."

"Okay" She turned back to the TV to watch the reruns of A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.

"That's it? No crying, no more whining, just 'Okay'?" Kurt leaned towards Violette, his breath brushing against her ear. She shivered. "How did you do that?"

"Missy's just a great kid" She shrugged, turning her head towards him. "Thank god, because otherwise, I'd never take the job."

Kurt quickly looked at Missy - who was incredibly engrossed in her cartoon – then took a hold of Violette's cheek and kissed her.

* * *

Violette quietly closed the book, smiling lightly. She carefully tucked Missy in and exited the room, leaving the door cracked open. She felt Kurt's arms wrap around her waist.

"Hmm, now what?"

"Now, you're gonna tell me exactly why you're here."

"How about we kiss some more instead?"

"Not until I know how you knew where I was" She turned around in his arms, raising an eyebrow.

"Tabby called the mansion" He sighed, leaning his head back. For a few glorious milliseconds, Violette stared openly at his neck, before Kurt once again looked at her. "Happy?"

"So let me get this straight" Violette took a step back, smiling. "A psychotic kleptomaniac tells you that you should show up at some random house cause your girlfriend will be there babysitting and you just go?"

"My girlfriend?" He smirked, closing the distance between them.

"Oh so it's even better" She put her hands on his shoulders. "A random girl is babysitting in there. Sorry I assumed."

"Nah" He stroked her cheek, biting his lip. "You were right. Heard my liebchen was kind of free and I just came over."

"Liebchen" She tested the word on her tongue. "I like the sound of it."

"I hoped you would" He kissed her, his tail wrapping itself around her calf. She smiled into the kiss, moving her hands to his hair.

' _Liebchen, huh?'_

* * *

When Missy's mother came back with the boys, she handed Violette the money with a teasing smile.

"I'm so sorry, I swear I had no idea he was gonna come here."

"Don't worry, Violette" The woman chuckled and winked at her. "If I ever need someone to watch over Missy, I'll give you a call."

"Of course, Madam."

"Oh, and next time just bring your boyfriend along."

Violette turned bright red, before saying her goodbyes and walking out of the house. Kurt and Jamie were waiting for her in the front yard, her brother glaring at the older mutant.

"Okay" She split the money, showing one half into Kurt's hands. "Now off you go."

"What is that?"

"Well, payment."

"No way, I'm not taking it _liebchen_. I crashed your evening, remember?" Kurt took a step towards her and stuffed the money into her jacket's pockets. "Now, off we go."

"I hate you" She turned to her brother. "And what's with the long face?"

Jamie ignored her completely.

"So, are you two together?"

Violette's head snapped back up, her eyes as wide as Kurt's. For good two whole seconds, they stared at each other with uncertainty and a bit of fear, until Kurt ported the two boys back home.

Violette knew that Jamie would have nothing against Lance, Pietro, Fred or even Todd. Hell, he'd probably throw them a party, celebrating the fact that his older sister finally got herself a man. And she already lived with all of them, so it wouldn't take away from her time with Jamie.

But she wasn't quite sure how he'd take sharing her with someone in his own house. It meant that every free time she had she would split between the two and well, Jamie just got her back a few months before.

"Fuck" She sighed, running her hand through her hair. She turned around and started to walk towards her house, thinking about what she was going to say to Jamie tomorrow.

* * *

Getting ready for a date with Kurt would seem effortless. He knew her for quite a while now, so there was no point pretending she was someone other than herself. Still, she spent a good half an hour throwing her clothes out of the closet in frustration. After she finally found something that would make it seem as if she didn't put any time in it at all, she checked herself out in her mirror.

"Okay, everything's okay, no need to worry" She chanted underneath her breath, shoving her keys into her pockets. She looked over at her suit, remembering what happened the last time she didn't have it on her.

' _What are the chances that weird fiery dinosaurs will pop out a second time this week?'_

She sighed and stuffed her mask into her pocket, knowing that with one of the X-geeks around, they were still higher than usual.

' _Should I stop calling them X-geeks?'_ Violette walked out of the door and down the stairs, pondering. ' _Nah_.'

She sneaked past the living room, trying to not catch any of the guys' attention. Tabitha's birthday was coming up and they were all panicking about what they were supposed to do about it. She didn't really have the time for this, at least not for the next few hours.

She quietly closed the door and let out a sigh of relief, before turning herself invisible and flying off. The cool February air cleared her head while also successfully messed up her hair, but she was strangely okay with it. It seemed like all of her first date jitters disappeared after Kurt babysat Missy with her.

' _And to think that this time last year I couldn't care less about him_.'

She landed in front of the gates, using the buzzer like a normal person. Something she knew was hard to achieve for Lance, who preferred to jump over it and hope for the best when he picked up Kitty.

' _Good thing I didn't ask him for a ride. He started to act crazy since they got together.'_

The gates opened and Violette stepped onto the grounds, humming. She was halfway down the path when Kurt appeared right in front of her in a cloud of smoke.

"Hi."

"Hi."

He wrapped his arms around her and teleported. Violette still wasn't used to this whole thing, but she didn't get as dizzy as usual.

They appeared in a back alley in the middle of Bayville. Kurt gave her a smile, asking her what she wanted to do.

"Let's get something to eat, shall we?" She interlaced her fingers with his. It was a bit awkward for a second until she adjusted her fingers so that both of them were comfortable. "And then we can ditch everyone _and_ your watch and get cozy and shit. Sounds good?"

Kurt's smile widened.

"Sounds awesome." 

* * *

"Favorite animal?"

"Cat. Favorite color?"

"Blue."

"You're kidding."

"Why do you think I've agreed to date you?"

Kurt threw his head back and laughed. Violette's head was resting on his thigh while one of his hands was buried in her hair, his fingers playing with the strands.

"I thought it was my devilishly good looks."

"Is that a pun?"

"Maybe."

She playfully slapped his knee, chuckling. Kurt leaned down, his lips delicately brushing against hers. She rested her hand on the back of his neck, his fur tickling her fingers. They were sitting on the Institute's grounds, as far from the Mansion as possible. It allowed them to not only have this moment of privacy but also for Kurt to ditch his disguise.

When they parted, Violette slowly opened her eyes. Kurt effectively blocked out the sun, which left him with a small golden glow around his head. The light shining through his dark blue hair made it seem like he had a halo, while also highlighting his blue fur.

Violette let a small smile crawl its way onto her face, her fingers brushing at the nape of his neck.

The cold wind hit her, causing her whole body to shiver. She sat up, wrapping her jacket tightly around herself. "Damn, it's cold."

"Come on" He stood up, offering his hand for her. She took it. "Let's get some tea or something." 

* * *

"What is she doing here?"

Kurt rolled his eyes, turning to Spyke and sticking out his tongue.

"Drinking tea."

Violette hid her smile behind her cup. Spyke opened the fridge and took out a whole jug of milk, opening the cap and chugging it down.

"Attractive" She said under her breath. Kurt chuckled, taking her hand.

"Should I be jealous, liebchen?"

"Very" Violette wiggled her eyebrows. "But you know, he's kinda right" She put her tea down, standing up. "I should be going home."

"Let me" Kurt leaned over the table and grabbed her wrist, porting them out. When they appeared in front of the Boarding House, Violette stumbled forward into him.

"Sorry" She breathed out, her hands fisting his shirt.

"I'm not complaining" His hand was still resting on her wrist. He loosened his grip, caressing her forearm. "Quite the contrary."

Kurt leaned in, kissing her softly. Her hands let go of the material, instead traveling to his neck. He deepened the kiss, putting his other hand on her cheek.

"Damn, fuzzbutt, I didn't know ya walked around all blue and shit now."

Their eyes opened at the same time, wide and full of panic. Kurt frantically reached for his watch, turning it on, murmuring what she was pretty sure was some German swear.

"Don't worry, yo, no one's seen ya" Todd hopped off the railing, a cigarette between his lips. He slowly walked into the house, purposely leaving the door open.

"I hate him" Kurt sighed, resting his forehead against hers.

"He did just save your ass, though" Violette giggled, kissing him one last time, before taking a step back. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure" He smiled and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Violette took out a pack of cigarettes, putting one in her mouth and lighting it up.

' _If they rain on my parade, I swear, I'll kill them.'_

Violette walked in, shutting the door behind her with unneeded force.

"Welcome home, sweetie!" Pietro appeared right next to her, taking her cigarette and throwing it on the floor. He stomped on it and took a hold of her arms, before running into the living room and setting her down on the couch.

"I hate you."

"You don't" Freddie sat next to her, watching Oprah.

Lance was slumped back in the armchair, his guitar in his hands. Tabby walked in from the kitchen, a bottle of water in her hand. She sat down on the armrest of the couch, her hip brushing against Violette's shoulder.

"How was it, honey?" Tabby smirked, taking a sip.

"Good" She sighed, taking the bottle from Tabitha's hands. "What did I miss?"

"It's a rerun."

"Still."


	17. Interlude III: The Want To Leave And The Right To Stay

Violette sometimes fantasized about joining the X-Men. Not because she wanted to join the good side cause to her the only thing that ever mattered was the people she cared about. She wanted to be closer to both Jamie and Kurt, but she couldn't leave her boys. Not right now, maybe not ever.

So instead of wasting her time on the 'what if's she tried to focus on the reasons why she had to stay. She'd watch them bicker and fight, cheat during Monopoly and poker, drink straight out of cartons and leave a mess behind.

She did know that they had Tabby, but Tabby wasn't necessarily better than them. She'd do the exact same things as they did, only with a few more explosions, and that never soothed Violette's nerves. If she were to leave them, who would be willing to clean up after them, both metaphorically _and_ literally.

Jamie already had people like that. He was surrounded by naïve, but good at heart people, who weren't afraid to be open around him.

The Brotherhood wasn't like that. Yes, they happened to be open with each other every once in a while, but it came after months of gaining trust and fighting alongside each other. And who would be such a naïve idiot that they would always try to get them out of their shells and break down their walls?

So, Violette decided to get rid of the whole idea of leaving them. Besides, she was happy with them, trusted them, and wasn't that the only thing that mattered?


	18. II: Don't Pretend You Ever Forgot About Me

Violette never expected that Tabby would turn out to be the one surprising them on her birthday. Boom Boom woke her up in the middle of the night, dragging her and the boys along for 'the best night of their lives'. She was more than surprised to see Amara, Kitty, and Kurt standing in front of the Boarding House, excited smiles on their faces.

"You sneaked out?" Violette walked over to Kurt, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "What will Wolverine do?"

"Kill us" He chuckled, taking her hand. "So, where are we going, Tabitha?"

Tabby, who was trying to convince the guys that they could at least ignore the X-Men for this one night, turned to them with a huge smile on her face.

"New York, of course!"

Tabby ran over to a car Violette just noticed and jumped into the driver's seat. Kitty noticed Violette's questioning gaze and took pity on her.

"My parents, like, sent it over for my sweet sixteen" She sighed, adjusting her ponytail. "Tabby don't you dare even scratch it!"

Violette looked over at the rest of the Brotherhood, then she looked at her boyfriend and finally she eyed the two cars they had. She turned to Lance and pouted.

"You traitor."

"I knew you'd understand!"

She walked over to Kitty's car and sat in the middle of the backseat, Kurt and Amara taking places next to her.

"Off we go!" Boom Boom started the engine and immediately Violette started to regret her choice of vehicle.

She felt Kurt take her hand and squeeze it. Although she was still scared for her life, a small smile made its way onto her face.

* * *

"No way."

"Oh, come on! It's gonna be fun!" Kurt dragged her out of the car, laughing.

"I can't believe you're trying to talk me into going to a club" Violette squeezed his arm, sighing.

The building in front of them was falling apart, but it didn't stop the New York club scene from adapting it to their needs. Kitty seemed to be as unsure about the whole idea as Violette, her arms firmly crossed across her chest. Lance tried to bribe her with smiles. Freddy and Todd were teasing Pietro who's smirk turned sour just as soon as Tabby walked over to the guy collecting money at the entrance, trying to talk him into letting in a bunch of kids, using her flirty smiles and lingering touches. Amara was standing in the middle of the whole group, looking awfully awkward.

Boom Boom finally waved them over, a huge grin on her face. Violette let Kurt pull her in, deciding that either way, the X-geeks were getting into much more trouble than her.

* * *

Amara got lost in the crowd.

It wasn't really her fault. She was keeping close to Tabitha, but the birthday girl disappeared in between the mass of bodies, Pietro along with her. Amara didn't know what made them stop hiding their thing for each other, but maybe it was just the fact that no one except for Amara knew it was something other than just flirting. Still, it didn't change the fact that Amara was horribly lost.

She tried to find anyone else she knew, but even the humongous Blob was nowhere to be seen. And even if she did find him, she wasn't sure she wanted to come over. She understood that they were Tabby's friends, but they weren't really Amara's style at all.

Well, this whole place wasn't really her style at all.

She made her way to the nearest door and barged into the next room, shutting it behind her.

Big mistake.

"Holy shite!"

"Ahh, sorry!"

She covered her eyes with her arms, her cheeks turning bright red. She really didn't expect to end up in a bathroom of all places, especially an occupied one. She peaked in between her fingers, before letting out a relieved sigh. He was just washing his hands.

"I'm very, _very_ sorry."

"It's okay, sheila" He wiped his hands off against his jeans, before messing his fiery orange her. "'S not like anything happened."

Amara clasped her hands in front of her stomach, biting her lips. It was beyond awkward for her, so she did the one thing Jubilee and Tabitha always advised her on doing in situations like that.

"I'm Amara."

She could hear Tabitha's voice booming in her head.

' _Just introduce yourself and see where it takes you.'_

"St. John."

' _A saint, eh?'_

"You're not from around here, right?"

"Australia."

"I'm from Nova Roma."

"Ye're from _what_?" He stilled, his hand falling down. "Ye're gonna have t' show it t' me on a map."

She giggled, feeling like suddenly all of her uneasiness slipped away.

"Yeah, sure."

After she drew exactly where Nova Roma was on a make-shift map – and learned that the reason why John had a notepad and a pen on him at all times was that he was a writer – she found herself writing down her number right next to it. John was surely way older than her and she knew close to nothing about him, but something about the way his eyes shined under the colorful lights and every few minutes he'd take out his lighter and flick it for a while drew her in. Maybe it was just the familiar warmth she felt radiating off of him, the one she felt whenever she used her powers.

Just a few minutes later Amara was dancing, pressed right up against John, the bass running through her veins. His hands were resting low on her hips, but she didn't feel uncomfortable. Her own hands were on his chest, their foreheads almost touching.

"Hey, slow down, carrot top" Tabby appeared out of nowhere, taking Amara's elbow and tugging her away. "It's a school night, after all. This girl needs some sleep before facing another lovely day at Bayville high."

"Ye're still in high school?! Who let ye in?"

"Ups" Her eyes threw daggers at Tabitha, who just giggled. "Anyway, let's go."

Amara let Boom Boom drag her away, looking over her shoulder and giving John a small wave. The guy seemed a bit lost, shock still evident on his face.

"He thinks he's a pedo now" She groaned, turning to Tabitha.

"It's better than finding out you're a pedo after sleeping with a minor" Boom Boom, squeezed her arm tighter. "Dammit, I can't even let you out of my sight for a second."

Amara sighed, thinking about how lonely she felt, now that John and his familiar warmth were away from her.

* * *

The next morning Violette took her seat in her English class, turning to face Kurt.

"Did they find out?"

"Yeah" Kurt took her hand underneath their desk, grinning. "They took Kitty's car."

"Holy shit" She covered her mouth with her hand. "They can do that?"

"Well, they sent it back" He shrugged. "It's not like Kitty can drive."

"But still" Violette shook her head. "What did they do to you and Amara?"

"Cleaning up the danger room" He held up his finger. "For two months."

"The bo-"

"And" He held up another finger. "We're grounded until they decide is fitted. Kitty too."

"Damn" She put her face in her hands. "I knew it was a bad idea."

"Pff, maybe for you" He chuckled, facing the blackboard. Their teacher marched in, yelling at them. "It was incredible."

She blushed, knowing what he was referring to.

"Yeah" She nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "It was."

* * *

Amara sat alone in the room she used to share with Tabitha. There were times when she missed the girl even more than usual, and that was one of these moments. She looked back at her phone, reading the text over and over again.

' **So honestly, how old are you?'**

She mulled over all of the possible ways to answer – she could tell a small lie, she could lie completely, or she could tell the truth.

' _Well, my birthday's next month'_ She told herself as she went with the first option. _'It's not that much of a stretch._ '

She typed in _'_ **15** _'_ , crossing her fingers. She really, really hoped it wouldn't end the conversation.

She felt her phone vibrate and immediately opened the text.

' **Shit, I feel like such a pervert.'**

She wasn't really sure how to respond, but thankfully she got another one.

' **I'm 19.'**

She knew how to respond to that.

' **I thought you were older.'**

' **I could say the same thing.'**

Tabitha's words once again echoed in her head. She knew how to fix this, at least partially. Maybe the outcome won't be the same as she hoped, but John was still easy to talk to.

' **Let's start over.'**

She dialed his number, waiting for him to pick up. When he finally did, she cleared her throat and introduced herself.

"I'm Amara."

He laughed and Amara wasn't sure why, but she felt her cheeks reddening as a familiar warmth ran through her.

"St. John."

* * *

Dating Kurt was easy and enjoyable, even though he had no time for her after school for three weeks, up until Storm took pity on them all and talked to the Professor about giving them just another month of cleaning the danger room instead. But during those three weeks, she tried to spend as much time with Jamie as she possibly could. He finally accepted her relationship with Kurt after a lot of bribing and a promise not to be overly mushy and coupley around him.

"Just don't leave me, okay Violette?" He sighed, chewing on the popcorn she made them. She even caved in and watched cartoons with him when he went over to the Boarding House. "And don't give me that _'Oh, Jamie'_. I'm thirteen, not stupid. You have your life and someday I'm not going to be the front and center of it. And that's okay. But, just for now, I'd prefer to be rather important."

"You always will be important to me, Jamie" She wrapped her arm around his shoulders, smiling sadly. "Believe me, there won't ever come a time that some stupid boy is more important to me than you."

"You really are dumb, you know?" He chuckled, stuffing her mouth with the snack before she could object.

Everything was going great, up until one fateful evening.

This evening wasn't special at all, maybe except for the oncoming storm. Fred was rummaging through the kitchen, Pietro was watching TV, Violette tried to read, Tabby was upstairs and Todd and Lance were doing their thing.

"You leave slime in my jeep one more time, I swear, I'll blow your fucking head off!" He growled at the younger boy.

"Yeah? Listen, dawg, that's just Toad abuse, yo. I tell ya-"

The front door snapped open, revealing the one person Violette thought she'd never see again.

"Guess who's back?"

There she was after half a year of absence. The woman who practically saved her life. Her freaking boss. Mystique.

She was in a total state of shock. She wasn't sure she could breathe for a minute. She heard every word the woman said, but she didn't understand it as if she was speaking a foreign language. Violette finally started to respond, when a very alive and moving Todd landed on her lap with a bomb in his hands.

"Fire in the hole!" She cried out, jumping off the sofa and getting behind it. When the bomb exploded, she slowly got up and made her way to the hall, trying hard not to catch Mystique's eyes.

"Gentlemen, Violette, meet your new team member."

She looked up, surprised to see a tall, dark-haired girl in goth gear. It seemed as if Mystique was kind of repetitive when it came to choosing girls suitable for the Brotherhood.

"Wanda?!" She heard Pietro yell, but before she could turn to the boy with a questioning gaze, the girl looked up and freaked out.

"Pietro!" She threw her hands up and everything started to shake and explode. Violette ran back to the living room and once again hid behind the sofa.

"Ex, huh?" Todd hopped next to her.

"Gosh, Pietro, why can't you just dump them before you start to date other girls?" Violette yelled, clutching the dirty carpet. "You can't expect them to take it nicely."

"It's worse" The speedster appeared next to her, fear evident in his voice. "She's my sister."

Their coat hanger made its way through the sofa's cushion, almost hitting Pietro's head.

"Sister?" Lance jumped over the cushion, the phonebook missing him by an inch. "You need some good family counseling."

"Make her stop!" Fred ran over to them, using the coffee table as a shield.

"You make her stop!"

"I will!" Lance stood up, trying to stop Wanda, but she somehow reversed his attack, putting him down.

Todd jumped onto the sofa and spit out a slimeball, but she reversed its course and hit him in the face. Violette bit the inside of her cheek and stood up, firing the blue power beams she had at the girl, but she made one of them hit the wall right over Violette's head, while the other scrapped her right wrist.

"How does she do that?!" She yelled at the boys, clutching her hand.

An old woman walked calmly into the room, saying something none of them could understand. It seemed as if the words calmed Wanda down until all of their things stopped flying around. They slowly raised their heads over the sofa, confused.

"Oh, I'm definitely out of here. Too many women for this house." Tabitha stormed out of the Boarding House, her head held high.

Pietro looked absolutely crushed until they all heard a loud bang coming from upstairs. Violette was pretty sure that the girl left a little welcoming present for Mystique.

* * *

Violette cornered Pietro later that evening when she was sure others were asleep. She knew for a fact he spent hours on the field before going to bed. She quietly made her way through the house in her invisible form. The door leading to the backyard creaked when she opened them, almost giving her a heart attack. She cursed, clutching her chest. She forgot how loud even the quietest of sounds can be in the dead of the night. Shaking her head, she flew out, smirking when she saw the boy run around the court, dribbling. The moon was shining bright enough to light up the yard, making the boy's already white hair silver. She was so glad for his no-mutation-in-basketball rule in moments like this when she could just quietly watch his graceful movements. It was almost sad that she had to break this silence.

"You know" She started, crossing her arms over her chest. "We talked about a lot of things, but you never mentioned you had a sister."

Pietro ran towards the basket, taking the ball in his hands and taking two steps, before jumping and sending the ball through the hoop.

"Never came up."

"Somehow, your bisexuality came up before your siblings?" She walked over, raising the ball from the ground and passing it to him. "I sincerely doubt it."

"Maybe say it a little louder, would you?"

"Wow, someone would have thought it was a touchy subject" She rolled her eyes. "But I think I know which is the touchy one."

"Okay, maybe I don't talk about my family, but come on" His dribbling got more aggressive. "You've met both my father and my sister. You're smart enough to figure out why."

She sat down below the hoop, hugging her knees to her chest.

"What made her… React like that?"

Pietro shot from the three-point line, missing. He caught the ball, before tossing it at the hoop. Violette covered her head with her arms, but the ball just bounced over her. He appeared next to her, messing up his hair.

"I told you that I got my powers quite early – Wanda got hers a few weeks later, but it wasn't… Nice. She couldn't control it at all – whether she was happy, angry, confused, scared – everything was flying around or breaking and… And then it got even worse and father convinced me that she couldn't stay, so… He left her in some kind of a mental institution and… I-I had to just stand there and watch as they took her away, I couldn't say a thing cause I knew he'd do something about it later and I was so scared" His voice wavered and he buried his head in his hands, taking deep breaths. "Years later he gave me away and… I couldn't help but feel as if I'd never see her again. I really love her, but she blames me for it and I can't help but feel like it really is my fault."

Violette swallowed her pride and put her hands on his shoulders.

"When I found out that my mother died, I-" She licked her lips, sniffing. "I really thought it was my fault. I thought that maybe if I stayed I would have somehow prevented her death, but… It didn't undo the harm. Darlene Girard was long gone, even before Darlene Madrox died and even then I couldn't help her. And thinking about the what-ifs over and over again won't change what has been done" She sighed, her hands brushing down his arms until her hands caught his. "Instead, maybe you should focus on how to… I don't know, don't get hexed first thing in the morning."

Pietro chuckled sadly, squeezing her hands.

"I'll come up with something."

"You always do" She brushed his palms with her thumbs. "What about Tabby?"

She could hear his short, sharp intake of breath at the mention of the girl's name.

"What about her?"

"We may all be dumb, but not that dumb" She grimaced. "You two were pretty loud sometimes."

"Dammit" He put his face in his hands. "I don't know, she just… Just left."

"And you did nothing to stop her."

"I couldn't do anything!" Pietro stood up and started to walk around in a circle, his nerves showing by the speed of his legs. Violette was pretty sure he was about to melt the ground off with friction. "Not in front of Mystique! What if she tells my father about it? He's God knows where and he better stay there, I don't need him in my life anymore!"

She knew it was a lie, but she didn't feel like telling him that. Pietro suddenly stopped, breathing heavily. He looked down at her and shook his head, before running off.

Violette fell back onto the field, sighing. Suddenly, nothing was going great at all.

* * *

"Are you gonna tell Kurt about her?"

Violette sneaked out of the house for a morning smoke, not really in the mood to face Pietro and his sister. She opted for the quiet of the forest surrounding their house, settling just far enough to not hear the screams coming from the kitchen.

"Are you gonna tell Kitty?"

Lance sighed, sitting down next to her. She quickly extinguished her cigarette and threw it behind her, knowing that Lance started to quit after he and Kitty got together.

"No" He shook his head, putting his hands in his lap. "You?"

"No."

She could hear birds singing in a tree behind her. She tried to focus on that, instead of the worry churning in her stomach.

"We're going to have to fight them, now" Lance turned to her. She could see he was just as nervous about it as her.

The birds stopped, leaving them in silence.

"Yeah" She felt the weight of that word hit her chest and suddenly Kurt disappeared from her mind, Jamie's face coming into focus instead. "We're back to being the bad guys."

* * *

She spent the day at school pretending that everything was okay. The only difference was that she skipped Gym.

Kurt and Violette both had Gym at the same time. She mostly participated in the lessons especially when they played basketball, but Kurt couldn't for obvious – to the resident mutants – reasons, so the Professor got him a fake note about some serious medical stuff that excused him from the subject altogether, leaving him with a free hour.

Violette found him in the library, hunched over a load of History books. She wordlessly took his hand and pulled him away from the table and out of the room. She ignored his questions, instead taking out one of the bobby pins Tabitha left everywhere around their house – ' _but not Tabby's any more'_ – and opening the doors to the broom closet with it. Once done, she grabbed Kurt's shirt and pulled him in, shutting the doors behind them with a kick.

She crashed her lips against his, the hand holding his shirt closing even tighter around the material. After a while of kissing Kurt suddenly shook his head, his senses coming back to him. Violette moved her lips down to his neck.

"Okay not that I'm complaining" He choked out, his hand moving up to her head, playing with her hair. "But, what's going on?"

Violette stopped for a second and took half a step back, looking straight into Kurt's eyes. One of her hands moved to his wrist, turning off his holo-watch, the other hand made its way to his cheek.

"I just feel like I might never get to do this again" Before he could ask any more questions, she went back to kissing him.

* * *

"Do you think it's a good idea?"

Violette shook her head, throwing her mask over her shoulder, knowing Pietro will have no problem with catching it.

"No" She sighed, looking at her reflection in the mirror. "Do you?"

"Who knows" She got so used to the wind that followed Pietro's every movement, that it felt almost comforting to feel it against the bare skin of her neck.

"Should I forget the mask?" She adjusted her belt.

"No" He put the mask over her eyes and tied it bellow her ponytail. "You wouldn't be able to do it without it."

' _Without hiding my eyes from him.'_

"I'll take Rogue."

"He'll still know you're there."

"The less I look at him, the better."

* * *

To no one's surprise, Rogue took her down pretty quickly. As Spectre started to slowly regain her consciousness, she started to think that maybe it was for the best. She wasn't really in the mood for kicking anyone's butt, let alone someone close to her boyfriend.

' _If he'll still be that after all this.'_

She stalled for a bit, looking at the fight in front of her through half-closed eyelids. She knew _Scarlet Witch_ was about to descend down the escalator any second now, so she didn't find any sense in throwing herself into the middle of this mess.

Just like she knew she would, Wanda came down and wrecked the whole place, making the X-Men ran off with their tails between their legs.

When she tried to call the mansion later that night, the fact that nobody was picking up came with no surprise. She sighed, putting the phone back in its place. She rested her forehead against the wall, feeling her eyes sting with unshed tears.

' _Come on, maybe he'll talk to you tomorrow after he gets over his hurt pride.'_

* * *

Pietro sat up, hearing something collide with his window.

' _Tabitha?'_

He put on his sweats, knowing that even if it was her, she wouldn't be in the mood for any nudity for a while.

' _You fucked up big time, Pietro.'_

He walked over to the window, taking a deep breath and opening it.

To say the least, he wasn't expecting Daniels of all people to be the one outside.

"What are you doing here?" Pietro put on his best menacing smirk, trying to pretend that the fact that they won against the X-Men was actually giving him joy. It was weird, but he didn't really feel anything after their victory. "Came to ask for tips on fighting? Cause I have to tell you, no matter how hard you try, you'll never be as good as _moi_."

"You never told me she was locked up, you dick!" Pietro's whole face froze, his hands tightening their grip on the windowsill. "We were friends, for fuck's sake! You could have just told me!"

Yeah, way back when, they really were friends, but it was one of those things Pietro preferred to never acknowledge, along with Wanda's existence. He knew that all those years ago he, Wanda and Daniels were very tight, fuck, he was wishing she'd marry the guy so they could all be even closer, but they were ten. A lot of things changed since then.

Pietro really wanted to swallow down his pride and talk to him like a normal person. Hell, if he could, he'd run down and talk to him about the last seven years or so. But they haven't been best friends for years now and he wasn't sure if Wanda was even capable of any emotion other than anger and sadness anymore.

So, instead of answering, he let go of the windowsill, ready to shut it close.

"I loved her, man!"

Pietro sneered, his hands turning into fists. He punched the wall, an unexpected response rolling off his tongue.

"You think I didn't?!" He got out, running down to face Daniels. "You think I didn't love my own sister? You think it didn't hurt me at all?" He was feeling ready to punch him, but he didn't know what was stopping him from doing it. "Of course not, cause you never even thought about me! Boo-hoo, poor ten years old Evan Daniels, his little crush was nowhere to be seen!" Maybe it was the fact that he was so tired. Tired of fighting and, most importantly, tired of everything life threw at him. "Let us never forget about the incredible Daniels and everything that's so great about him and God forbid we don't feel bad about his little heart breaking _seven fucking years ago_ , during which he undoubtedly forgot about the object of his affection. But you know what?" He reached forward, grabbing the front of Daniels' shirt and pulling him forward. "I didn't forget about her for even a _second_."

He let go, running back to his room and closing the window shut, before throwing himself onto the bed, feeling even more shitty about what they were going to do than before.


	19. II: Seasons Change But People Don't

She didn't even have the chance to call the Institute before Lance told her to change into her costume and hop into the jeep.

"The Professor called" She didn't see the look he shared with Pietro as they all walked out of the house. "He wants us all to work together against Magneto."

"What did Mystique say about it?" She was met with silence, so she looked over her shoulder. Todd was looking awfully guilty, rubbing the back of his head, while Lance and Fred couldn't meet her eyes. She looked at Pietro, raising her eyebrow. "She's not happy, then?"

"Yeah" Lance sighed. Pietro ran off, but not without giving her a kiss on the cheek. Violette touched the place where his lips touched her skin, awfully confused. "Anyway, let's get going."

* * *

During the time they spend in the elevator riding down to the underground training center, Violette checked her nails, feeling suddenly nervous."Would you remind me, why are we doing this again?"

"Lance said so" Freddy shrugged, shoving the rest of his morning burrito into his mouth.

"You're disgusting" Pietro made a face at his teammate.

"Shut the fuck up" Lance adjusted his helmet, frowning. "If we ride up there, fighting and throwing insults at each other, we'll come out as total losers. We need to come out as a team, to show them that the fact we beat them wasn't just a coincidence."

"We beat them thanks to Wanda, you guys" Violette pointed at the girl in the back, who was pointedly looking at the side of the elevator. "And I'm pretty sure they know that."

"Nah, they don't, yo" Todd attacked the fly that was following him since they came to the Institute. "Their pride's too hurt, dawgette."

"Toad is right" Pietro smirked. "They were probably too crushed to even care what exactly happened. That's why we're doing it. To crush them even further, so they have no idea what hit them when we strike."

' _That's what we're doing now?'_

She bit her cheek, watching the door slide open.

* * *

"I didn't know he would be there."

Lance looked at her for a split second, before turning back to the window.

"Me neither" He sighed. Suddenly, Lance froze up, before throwing himself to the window. "Wait, where's my jeep?"

"You parked it near the main road, remember" Fred scratched his arm, yawning. "You made us all walk all the way to the Institute."

"B-but" He turned to them, his lower lip quivering. "It's not there."

* * *

Spectre felt the weight of the world come off her shoulders when Storm told her to join team three, consisting of the Beast, Shadowcat and Toad. She would chop her arm off if she had to be on the same team as Kurt and she was still uneasy around Wanda.

Unlike Todd, it seemed.

"She's hot" He said, chewing on a fly.

He was watching the newest Brotherhood member out of the corner of his eye, smirking. Violette rolled her eyes.

"She's also related to Pietro" She grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the rest of their team.

She saw the explosion before she felt it, the slight movement of the whole ground beneath her feet. She let go of Todd, shielding her eyes for a moment. She heard Wanda's scream and her eyes widened, the words echoing in her head.

' _It's a trap.'_

She sobered up, running towards the rest of the group, the fact that Kurt was supposed to be where the explosion took place on her mind.

' _He should be okay. He can teleport, for fuck's sake.'_

* * *

Violette took cover behind one of the boxes, clutching her hand to her chest, cursing. She could swear she knew the guy whose explosive card burnt her fingers. She's only seen eyes like this once.

' _Démon Yeux Rouges. You've wandered a bit far from New Orleans, mon ami.'_

She looked over her shoulder and channeled the energy running through her fingers out. It hit his shoulder, but before she could take pride in the hit, he threw his card under her shoes, which immediately blew up, the force of it knocking Violette off her feet. She landed on her arm, protecting her fingers from the hit.

She heard another card land near her, but before it could explode, the familiar smell of sulfur surrounded her. Kurt grabbed her arm and teleported, just as the card combusted. Spectre felt her whole stomach turn, but before she could say a thing, he was gone.

She stood up and brushed the dirt off of her clothes, before examining her hand.

' _Why do they always have to hurt my hand?'_

She sighed and ran towards the ongoing fight, deciding to forget about everything for a moment and throw herself into it.

She found him once again, this time his back turned to her. She blasted him, happy to see him stumble forward and let go of some of his uncharged cards. She jumped forward, deciding that the less space between them, the less he could do to her.

Boy, was she wrong.

He turned out to be great at hand-to-hand combat, much better than she ever was. During the whole commotion he ripped off her mask and left a few bruised ribs, while the only thing she did was maybe leave a scratch on his cheek.

"It's Magneto!" Violette turned back for a split second to look at Storm, before once again facing the guy.

Or, at least, where she thought the guy was.

"He fucking disappeared" She murmured underneath her breath, running over to the rest of the mutants.

It seemed like she did a lot of running nowadays. ' _My butt will look incredible_.' Violette shook her head. ' _Get your head straight. You're Spectre now, act like it.'_

* * *

There was a lot of things Violette never thought she'd ever see, and a huge mutants-capturing robot was one of them.

She wasn't sure how she managed to get away safely, but she knew one thing – Freddy didn't. And, unlike the last time, she wasn't sad.

She was angry. At Pietro.

"That fucking son of a bitch" She groaned, her hands curling into fists. She knew that Pietro, no matter how hard he tried, was still under his father's influence. She just never expected him to be so stupid and help Magneto out them all to the humans. "I swear, when I'll get my hands on him, I'll-"

"Oh no."

Violette turned towards Kitty, who was currently looking out the window. She followed her gaze and gasped.

' _Wait_.'

She had a crazy idea, that maybe Mystique wasn't so against them joining X-Men after all.

"Please, tell me you have some kind of a bunker down there" She turned to Kurt, breathing heavily. "Please tell me there's a chance they got out."

He turned to her and licked his lips, suddenly not able to meet her eyes. She felt the tears threatening to spill on her cheeks. She swallowed the bill rising in her throat and looked back at the ruins of her brother's home.

They landed and she watched as the X-Men made their way out, mourning the loss of their sanctuary. She still couldn't believe how foolish she's been. Mystique left them not even a year earlier and they just went back to listening to her like it was nothing. Sure, she owed the woman a lot but nothing could recompense the months they spent fighting to survive, stealing and saving every cent they had. Nothing could take back the fact that they almost froze to death in December, that they had to do things no one their age should – support the house, pay bills, make sure they had stuff to eat. If it wasn't for the fact that she wasn't doing it alone, she was sure it would be worse than the streets in New Orleans.

' _She blew up my brother_.'

That was it. She was quitting. She has had enough. No more mutants, no more enemies, no more good and bad guys. She wanted to take off god knows where, but she remembered that her face was probably all over the news by now.

She followed the rest, knowing that her boys and Wanda probably couldn't care less.

' _God, what kind of monsters we became? What is she doing to us_?'

That's when she saw a movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned quickly, relieved to see Summers leading the New Mutants.

"Jamie!" She ran up to her brother, wrapping her arms around him. "Oh, mon frère, are you hurt?"

"Nah, I'm good" He shrugged, smiling. "Scott got the worst of it."

She noted the older boy's torn shirt and burns, and suddenly was relieved to see the few bruises and cuts Jamie had. Scott looked far worse.

And was currently seizing Charles Xavier.

Kurt and Bobby held him back before he could hurt the man, but he just started to laugh and got up.

' _Mystique_.'

"You!" She walked up to the woman, narrowing her eyes. The rage inside her was like fire, filling up every fiber of her being. "How dare you try to hurt my brother of all people?! You cold, heartless-"

Violette was interrupted by a bunch of police cars arriving at the scene. She saw her teammates flee and made her decision.

"Oi, Wanda!" She yelled to the girl. "Take care of them will you?"

She turned to the first cop who tried to grab her and turned invisible, stepping to the side. She smirked, seeing the man run into a tree. She saw the New Mutants being chased by some of the cops and frowned, flying over to the one nearest to her and grabbing her, sending a power beam at the ground in front of the running cops. The girl screamed, but Violette quickly turned herself visible and put her down, landing next to her and sprinting forward, ignoring the confused and pissed voices of some of the mutants.

"Where are you going?" She asked the boy who was leading the way.

"Shouldn't you be running off with the rest of your precious Brotherhood?" A brown haired guy behind her yelled.

"Shouldn't you just shut the fuck up and run?" She mocked him, turning back to the boy in front of her. "Where?"

"Bayville sewers."

"Is it safe?"

He looked over his shoulder and straight at her. Something in her eyes must have spoken to him.

"I've been hiding there for years" He looked back in front of himself and turned right. "There ain't no safer place for now."

She nodded, looking back at Jamie. He was near the end, the girl she earlier rose above the ground was making sure he was keeping up. She turned back to the forest in front of her.

"We find the nearest entry or…"

"No, but I know the place. There're people who will help us there."

Violette kept on running, thankful for Pietro's basketball craze and that to keep up with him on the field, she had to go out for a run every now and again.

She sighed, knowing that now there won't be no basketball with Pietro, no cooking with Fred, no listening to Lance's music, no hanging out with Todd. She was a traitor now – left them with Wanda, not caring what would happen to them. That was a lie, but what did they care. She cared about them, used to think that they were her family, but they just laughed and cheered when the Institute – her brother's _home_ – was ripped apart. She loved them almost as much as she loved Jamie, but she couldn't look at them after that. Not until they abandoned Mystique just like she abandoned them.

* * *

She didn't expect them to be happy and cheerful when they got that she won't leave them alone, but she didn't expect them to try and rip Ray's – the boy who actually knew where they should go – throat out.

"Are you nuts, Berzerker?" Yelled the tan guy, who was currently hoisting up one of the girls to help her get over a fence.

"She's in the Brotherhood" Said the girl, a green-eyed redhead.

"I'm not" They turned to her, as she flew above the fence and helped the girl. "If I still was, I wouldn't be here, trying to help you."

Most of them didn't believe her.

"Okay, how about that – I had no idea she was going to do this" She lowered the girl, ignoring her protests. "Jamie's my brother. I don't want him to die. That's why I still endure your childish behavior" Jamie duplicated himself and the clones hoisted him up. When he was on the top of the fence, he absorbed the dupes and let Violette lower him down, knowing it will be quieter than if he was to jump down and duplicate upon impact. "We're being tracked – we have to stay calm and quiet, otherwise we'll never get there."

They shut up for a while.

"I could just blow this thing" Tabby grunted, climbing the fence.

"Yes and then we could make even more noise and leave even more clues leading to where we are" Ray walked back a bit and stated to run, jumping onto the fence. Thanks to the running start, he was already a few feet above the ground. "We have to stay low."

Violette saw Tabby mock Ray behind his back, causing Amara to giggle.

She was just a year, maybe two, older than them. How come she was serious about it, but they just made fun of the whole situation? Jamie, the youngest of them all, was quiet – just like her, he knew when to shut it, thanks to the years they spent with Daniel – and the blond boy her brother seemed to become friends with was too, but the others were so reckless it was pitiful.

"Let me tell you something" She looked around the group, biting her cheek. "For all we know, we can get killed. I don't know about you, but I don't want you all on my conscience."

They heard footsteps at the end of the alley. The tan guy quickly helped Tabby the rest of the way up and jumped onto the fence, quickly climbing it. They started to run, taking cover behind trashcans and cardboard boxes, while Violette turned herself and the person closest to her – Ray – invisible. The cops looked over the alley and went back to searching. They all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, we're here" She turned them visible and followed Ray. He raised the metal plate with ease. "Come on."

* * *

The Morlocks took them in. She wasn't really sure why – maybe they owed Ray or just couldn't look at the kids with their clothes torn and dirty. She toyed with the communicator she got from Mystique while she was still pretending to be the Professor – it was working. She contemplated pros and cons, before sighing and turning it on.

The reception was lousy, but after a couple of static filled moments, a light flickered on and she heard a voice.

"Nightcrawler speaking."

"Kurt, it's Vio-"

"Save it" She could hear the disappointment in his voice. "What are you doing with a working communicator?"

"I'm with the New Mutants" She cleared her throat. "Looking after them, you know?"

She heard bustling on the other line.

"Cyclops here" Scott's voice was commanding. She wasn't sure she liked that. "Are you safe?"

In other words: do what you want, just don't say your position.

"Yes" She looked around the sewers, doing a mental check. "We're missing one, the leader."

"Iceman's with us" She nodded, before practically slapping herself, realizing they couldn't see her.

"Good" She swallowed. "When things quiet down, send a signal or something, so we can tell you where we are."

"Got that" She was about to turn the communicator off, when she heard it. "And thank you."

* * *

They spent days in the sewers, eating whatever the Morlocks had and treating the minor cuts and injuries they got while boring themselves to death, until she heard the communicator start to beep. The girls were sitting in a comb circle, braiding each other's hair. Violette let go of Torpid's brown locks and quickly tucked the communicator out of her pocket.

"Spectre here" She motioned for everyone to stay silent.

"We're cleared" She heard Jean's voice on the line. "And we know where the Professor is. If you only tell us where you are…"

"Bayville, Main Street near the mall in forty minutes" She looked over the New Mutants, subtlety telling them to pack their things and get ready for takeoff. "See you then" She hung up and put the communicator back in its place. She walked over to Callisto, extending her hand. "Thank you for everything. If you ever need-"

"We're more than capable of taking care of ourselves" The woman shook her hand. "But thanks."

They said their goodbye's to the Morlocks and started to make their way out of the sewers and onto the streets. They were still dirty and their clothing was still torn up, but they finally knew they were safe. Ray lead the way, knowing the fastest route to the center of the city. They climbed out, all of them happy to breathe fresh air for the first time in days.

Ray helped Violette get out of the opening, before sealing it back with the plate. She sniffed the air and chuckled.

"God, thanks to the fresh air, I can finally smell how we reek" She giggled, closing her eyes. "Man, Todd smells better than we do."

The rest of the group got silent.

"What?" She cracked open one of her eyes.

"We get that you helped us and all, but" Jubilee looked down at her beaten up shoes, one of the heels almost broken in half. "Are you sure you don't want to go back to the Brotherhood?"

Violette looked at the faces of the mutants around her. After the last couple of days, she kind of started to like some of them. She looked straight into Jamie's eyes. He had the same look he had when she left with the Brotherhood after Christmas ended and the temperature started to raise.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure" She shrugged. "They don't really like traitors."

They all smiled at her. It was funny what a couple of days of trying to survive can do to people. She let herself smile too, knowing that while the situation wasn't great, it was finally resembling good.

* * *

The Velocity hovered over the street. Sam, Roberto and Violette took the fast way up, while the rest was escorted by Kurt and Jean. Violette landed in the jet, gratefully accepting the bottle of water someone handed to her and plopping down onto the floor.

"You could have just abandoned them" She looked up at Kurt, downing the whole bottle. "Your powers would keep you safe and sound, especially since you blew up in June. You could even take Jamie with you and no one would expect anything else from you, to be honest."

"Yeah, I have my moments" She nodded, putting down the now empty bottle. "I couldn't just take Jamie. He'd never forgive me."

Kurt looked back at the New Mutants, all of them taking turns to quickly clean themselves up a bit in the tiny bathroom they had on board.

"I think you're lying" He smiled at her, sitting down next to her.

"Okay, maybe I was thinking about responsibility and things since Mystique came back" She admitted, toying with her fingers. "I love the boys. They were my family for a long time now, but I couldn't stay there" She looked up at him. "Someone could die that day. There's no guaranteeing it wouldn't be Jamie. I think that that thought woke me up" She ran her hand over her face. "There's no war. At least, there was none, until Magneto made sure everyone knew about us. I can't even hide behind my mask, you know? There was no way anyone connected you to your fake face, so you at least have that, but my stupid mask got ripped off in the commotion" Violette sighed. "I'm practically naked thanks to that. And I don't even have a team now."

"You can join us."

"I don't think some of your teammates would be okay with that. I know how it was with Lance, you know? You weren't very… Welcoming."

"You see, they know you won't be doing this just out of spite or something."

"How?"

"You love your brother. You helped the New Mutants get out."

"That's all nice and shit, but your mansion went…Boom."

"We have a place for anyone who needs it."

"You're absolutely sure?"

Kurt smiled brightly.

"Yes."

They were interrupted by the leader of the New Mutants himself. He offered his hand to Violette, who uncertainly took it before freezing when he pulled her into a hug.

"Thank you!" He was good three inches taller than her, but somehow managed to fit his head under her chin and started to nuzzle and wow she has never felt more uncomfortable than in this stranger's hold. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Um, it was nothing, really, just keeping them entertained and helping Ray by not being a total bitch" She mouthed ' _What's going on, help_ ' to Kurt.

"Hey, hands off my liebchen, Iceman!"

"Noted" Iceman visibly tried to regain his cool, brushing away his tears. "My team, they're alright- Ykhm, I mean, hi, I'm Bobby Drake."

"Violette Girard" She nodded, trying to smile.

"Yeah, knew that, just, thank you" He gazed into her eyes with such gratitude she couldn't just simply brush it off. "Thank you" Bobby turned on his heel and went back to embracing his team.

"So" Violette turned towards Kurt, smirking. "I'm back to being your liebchen?"

"Only if you want to" She could see a blush spreading over his face.

"I never stopped wanting that. I'll never stop, okay?"

"Okay" His smile was blinding and she couldn't help but copy it.

He was about to lean in and kiss her, when suddenly she realized why she felt incredibly uncomfortable.

"Kurt, get away from me."

"Why?"

"Don't pretend that you don't know. I spent the last few days in a sewer. I need a shower, then we can talk about any kind of physical contact."


	20. III: A Change Won't Do You Any Good, Seriously

Violette sat with Kurt in front of Professor X’s temporary office, waiting for the old man to get off the phone.

With her hand in his, she couldn’t help but remember Asteroid M and how she started to actually consider him a real human being she could be friends with when he showed her support and understanding while they were still enemies.

 _Enemies._ It sounded so petty in her head now. It seemed like the only real enemy she faced was the NYPD officers who tried to arrest her because of her DNA.

Kurt successfully tried to get her attention by clearing his throat.

“We worked with the Brotherhood for a few hours after you ran off.”

“Oh” There really was nothing else to say. “How did… What were they like?”

“Toad was… Mopey” Kurt bit his lower lip. “Avalanche almost bit Scott’s head off. And then Kitty’s.”

“What?!”

“It was nothing, really” He raised his hands in a defensive matter, dropping her hand in the process. “He was just… Worried that we had no idea where you were.”

Violette lowered her gaze and bit her tongue. She felt that as if she wouldn’t, a lot of things she’d prefer to stay hidden would just pour out of her mouth along with taking back anything she agreed to by stepping onto the jet.

‘ _Come in._ ’

She flinched, as anyone not used to telepathy would when they heard someone else’s voice inside their head. Kurt stood up and offered her his hand, smiling.

This was it. The moment that will set her future in stone.

She took his hand in hers and let him lead her to the room, trying very hard to breathe deeply.

The Professor was sitting behind a desk, his hands folded into a triangle in front of his mouth. He seemed to be smiling gently, motioning for them to sit. Violette took the chair right in front of him, trying to put on a brave face.

She could feel the man combing through her brain, picking at her every thought.

Kurt sat right next to her, his tail wrapped around her shin, keeping her grounded and giving comfort without maintaining much physical contact between the two. She preferred it this way, it was far more familiar than hand-holding or hugging in front of other people. Dating while being on opposite sides was hard and walking in the halls of Bayville while holding hands wasn’t very subtle.

“How would you feel about joining the New Mutants, Violette?” He finally asked, putting his hands down.

‘ _What, am I not good enough for the real team?’_

She pushed down the thought, focusing on the feel of Kurt’s fur on her ankle.

‘ _You’ll get to spend more time with Jamie.’_

She cleared her throat.

“That would be great.”

The Professor gave her a smile, sticking out his hand. She shook it, thanking him.

* * *

 

After some of the formalities were talked through, Violette closed the door of the temporary office and turned to Kurt, smiling widely.

“Seems like we will be seeing much more of each other.”

He chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist and tugging her towards his body.

“I’m not complaining.”

“Ew, like, get a room you two” Violette looked over Kurt’s shoulder with a raised eyebrow.

“Believe me, Kitty, if we could, we would” There was only half a dozen of rooms left for the students in the underground X-Men base, which meant that they all had little to no privacy.

“Still!” Suddenly all of those sleepless nights Violette suffered through because of Kitty and Lance’s phone calls came into her mind. She smirked and turned back to Kurt, kissing him soundly. “Oh, come on!”

When they parted, Violette was happy to see Kitty was long gone.

“Payback tastes so sweet, don’t you think?” She asked her boyfriend, taking his hand and tugging him towards the kitchen area. Kurt’s smile turned into a mischievous smirk.

“Like raspberry chapstick.”

“Oh, shut up, it was fifty percent off.”

* * *

 

Violette watched Tabby hug all of the New Mutants, still smiling widely. When the blonde walked over to her, Violette wordlessly took her luggage and started to walk towards the jeep.

“Why are you leaving?” She put the bag in the backseat and turned around. “They’d take you over me anytime.”

“I already tried my hand at being an X-Man, honey” Tabitha opened the door and sat in the driver’s seat. “Needless to say, it didn’t work out.”

The force she used to shut the door punctuated her statement.

“Are you going back to the guys?” Violette rested her hands where the driver’s side window used to be. “Pietro’s devastated.”

“Yeah, well, he did nothing to stop me” Tabby put the key in, before sighing. “Mystique told me to get out, and you know what he did? He took my bomb from me and told me to calm down. Like I’m five years old or something” She turned to Violette, her eyes a bit watery. “He chose between me and the woman he screwed over not even a week later. That’s fucked up” She started the engine, wiping her eyes.

“What are you gonna do?” Violette put her hand on Tabitha’s arm, feeling lost. Pietro screwed over all of them, but until then, she never thought about how much he hurt Boom Boom.

“Return the jeep and then I’m going back to Virginia” She leaned over to wrap her arms around Violette’s shoulders. “Take care of Blue, Jamie, and Amara, okay?”

“Okay” She took a step back and watched as Tabby drove away from the mansion.

* * *

 

When Rahne and Jubilee said their goodbyes, Violette felt even worse. These guys lost two members and what did they get in return? An untrained, ex-Brotherhood member they hardly even knew.

Still, she stood next to Jamie, trying to pretend that everything was fine. But when Jubilee walked over to her and hugged her, she froze up, not knowing what to do.

“Thank you” Violette just nodded in response, still completely lost.

Rahne just offered her a handshake, which made Violette relax a bit. She wasn’t used to so much physical contact with strangers.

“Take care of Jamie, okay?” She smiled sadly, squeezing her hand tightly.

“Of course.”

Rahne nodded, before walking over to Sam and throwing her arms around him, kissing him loudly. All of the New Mutants started to cheer, clapping their hands, some of them exclaiming ‘finally’. Violette felt a small smile make its way onto her face.

‘ _Maybe this whole thing won’t be so bad. They’re just kids, after all.’_

* * *

 

‘ _It was a huge mistake.’_

Even back in the Boarding House, with the guys always butting in everywhere, Violette felt more at ease than here.

Or maybe it was because she didn’t have to share a room with anyone, especially Jean Grey and Amara.

Amara was okay. She mostly kept to herself after Tabby drove off, but it meant that Violette didn’t really have to talk to her. Jean, on the other hand, felt like it was her responsibility to make Violette feel at home, by bombarding her with unnecessary questions and forcing her to talk.

Which made her somewhat happy that she wasn’t among the students chosen to go back to Bayville High. Even though the New Mutants were supposed to help with rebuilding the school.

So after breakfast, she found Kurt and pulled him away from the rest of X-Men for a second.

She knew he feared rejection more than anything. That for the first time in his life, he was somewhat accepted by their peers. She knew that she was asking a lot of him, but she also knew that he couldn’t just abandon the rest.

After giving him a sweet, short kiss, she narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

“You can’t just run and hide, Kurt” His eyes widened as he rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling nervously. “You can’t just leave them right now. It’s not cool and you know it.”

He sighed his whole posture dropping.

“I’ll try.”

“I know you will” She smiled, putting her hands on his cheeks and kissing him. “Oh, and by the way, I love the sweater.”

He smiled, before walking back to his friends, waving to her before they got to the elevator.

‘ _All of the New Mutants please, report to the sub-level 7.’_

“Great” She sighed, turning around and walking straight into Bobby.

“Wow, I know I’m good looking, but you shouldn’t throw yourself at me” He snickered. “I think you should cool it.”

“I’m seriously regretting every choice I made in my life that lead me to this situation Ice-lame.”

“Now that’s a new one” He pulled her up, tugging her along. “Come on, adventures await us!”

‘ _And I thought that the Brotherhood was immature. Is he five or something?’_

* * *

 

“Okay, guys, take five!”

Violette sighed in relief, wiping the sweat off of her brow. She needed a cigarette.

She walked off towards the forest, rummaging through her new uniform, trying to find the pack. Suddenly realization dawned on her – this shit had no pockets whatsoever. She sighed, looking around and confirming that no one was paying any attention to her, before putting her hand underneath her collar to take out the cigarette she hid in her bra. She took off her gloves and was about to light it up with her powers when she felt a hand grab the back of her suit and pull her back, another one taking her cigarette out of her mouth.

“We gotta talk, kiddo.”

She groaned, not up for a talk with Wolverine of all people.

He sat her down on the renovated stairs, before ostentatiously throwing her cigarette behind his shoulder.

“You have to quit” He growled out, crossing his arms over his chest, which made him look even more buff than before.

“No can’t do.”

“Yes, you can” He huffed. “Or else you’ll talk to Storm about it.”

Violette turned her head to look at the woman. She sure didn’t seem like it, but Violette’s seen her in action and it was both beautiful and terrifying as hell. She swallowed, nodding her head.

“Okay, I’ll try.”

* * *

 

Hey, Newbies!” Wolverine yelled over the breakfast table, shutting up all of them. “Don’t get too excited. You’re going back to school today.”

“What?” Roberto shot up from his seat, his hands in his hair. “I have a test today!”

“Too bad, hotshot” The man went back to his newspaper, a smirk on his face.

Violette stuffed the rest of her sandwich down her throat and ran off to her room before she realized that she didn’t really own anything in there. Her clothes were still in the Boarding House and besides her old costume, the only thing she had was an oversized shirt Boom Boom gave her to sleep in out of pity. It hasn’t really been an issue up until now.

She heard the door open and turned back, thankful to see Amara there.

“Can you borrow me something?” She asked, biting her lip. “I’m going shopping today, so I swear, it’s the only time I’ll ask.”

“No problem” Amara gave her a smile and walked over to the closet. She took out a pair of jeans before her smile turned into a smirk. “But, you know, you can always borrow a shirt from one of the guys.”

Suddenly Violette remembered that Amara was Tabby’s best friend.

“Good idea” She had to admit, she never even considered that. She changed into the jeans and put on her bra, before leaving the room, her sights set on Kurt’s door. _‘Okay, just be flirty and shit and make Tabitha proud.’_ She marched over and knocked, relieved to hear Kurt invite her in. She wouldn’t really know how to explain what she was exactly doing to Summers. She opened the door, an innocent smile on her face. “Hey, Kurt.”

“ _Gutten morgen, liebchen_ ” He was packing his backpack, looking around for books. “Have you seen any stray Social Studies textbooks?”

“No” She walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind. “Can you borrow me a shirt? All of mine are back in the Boarding House.”

He froze up for a second, before turning to face her and kissing her.

“Sure” He untangled himself from her and walking towards his wardrobe.

Violette took this opportunity to look around the room, not really surprised to see half of it messy and wild, while the other was neat and perfectly clean. One thing on Kurt’s bed did catch her eye though.

“How about this” She took the sweater, grinning. “It does look good on you, so who knows, maybe I’ll look decent.”

“You’re beautiful, no matter what you wear” He turned around, a wide smile on his face.

“Thank you” She licked her lips, suddenly feeling flustered. _‘No, Violette, stick to the plan.’_ “Hold this.”

She quickly took off her shirt and threw it his way, before slowly putting on his sweater. She enjoyed the way his eyes widened and his hands tightened around the material as he drank her in.

“So, what do you think?” She pulled her hair from under the sweater. The sleeves were already a bit too long for Kurt, but they must have looked downright ridiculous on her. She pushed them to her elbows, before taking the shirt from him.

“I-I…” He shook his head. “How _dare_ you.”

Violette chuckled, opening the door to his room.

“Admit it, you loved it” She blew him a kiss over her shoulder. “I’ll be outside.”

She shut it behind her, not waiting for his response.

* * *

 

She was more than surprised when she literally ran into Lance. Or, more specifically, his shoulder.

“Well, first of all, ouch” She rubbed her forehead, clutching her books to her chest. Not having a bag sucked big time. “Second of all, I’m coming to your place tonight.”

“What, X-geeks bored you already?” He snarled, rubbing his shoulder. “Thing is, I don’t think you’re welcome in the Boarding House anymore.”

“Yeah, yeah, get over it” _‘I’m not over it either. But I couldn’t live with you, knowing you knew what Mystique was planning.’_ “I just need to get my stuff.”

“Whatever” He rolled his eyes, running off to his jeep.

“Isn’t he just the only ray of sunshine in my life” She murmured underneath her breath.

Violette started to walk back to the school building, knowing she couldn’t just slack and skip as much as she did when she was still in the Brotherhood. She had a talk with Wolvie already and she wasn’t really up for another one.

She ran into someone else, her head once again crashing into a shoulder.

“For fuck’s sake, why is everyone so tall!” She looked up and froze. “ _Démon Yeux Rouges._ ”

“ _Pardon_?”

“Uhm, nothing” She shook her head. “What are _you_ doing here? Robbing high schoolers isn’t really profitable, they don’t carry that much cash around.”

He raised an eyebrow and Violette suddenly figured out that maybe she said too much.

“So you know what I do?”

“You still rob people? I was just joking, I thought you grew out of it and became a villain for hire.”

“ _How_ do you know me?” He narrowed his eyes, the playful flare in them long gone, replaced by mistrust and cold.

“New Orleans is a big city” She walked around him, deciding not to show how panicked she became in his presence. Her fingers still weren’t in the best shape after their last meeting. “With a lot of unusual kids running around it.”

Violette really wanted to get to this stupid US History class on time, but it seemed like the universe was against her. She watched as Rogue and Kitty ran past her, probably to spy on the guy.

‘ _Good luck with that, he surely already knows you’re doing it.’_

She sighed, shaking her head. _‘No time for that. US History, remember?’_

* * *

 

She got to the Boarding House around eight, thankful to find it empty for once. She sneaked into her old room and started to pick up her things. When she was sure she had all of her clothes, she went back down to collect all of her books and after that opened the broom closet, hoping to find her Nativity crèche in there.

Instead of that, she was crushed by a bunch of stuff.

“For fuck’s sake, I’ve been gone for a week!” She groaned, pushing some old pizza boxes off of her.

She climbed the mountain of things, trying not to fall, and when she finally reached the closet, she reached for the box she kept in there.

“Do you mind?”

She fell off, landing on her butt, right between Lance and the living room.

“I told you I’d come” She stood up, dusting off Amara’s jeans. “So, here I am, packing my stuff” She turned around and froze. All of them were battered, their suits ripped in some places, with various cuts and bruises. “What happened to you?”

“Your teammates did” Fred took one of the random shirts from the pile of trash and wiped dirt off his face.

“’N the military, yo” Todd hopped to the kitchen, swearing.

“You need any help?” She watched as Lance clutched his side and started to wonder if maybe any of his ribs were broken.

“No.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Too bad.”

Lance took her bag and shoved it in her hands, before steering her out the door.

“Lance, I want to help you.”

“You did enough. Now go.”

She never felt as hurt as when he shut the door in her face, every breath visibly giving him more and more pain.


	21. III: The Calm Before The Storm

“Look out!” Violette felt Jamie fall down on her, making her drop the whole can of paint, which in turn hit Kurt’s chest.

“Ouch” She opened her eyes and saw a bunch of Jamie’s on her. They all slowly got to their feet, allowing her to breathe. “Damn, you lot are heavy.”

“Sorry” They all shrugged, going back to painting.

Violette sat up and turned her head, laughing at the shell-shocked look on Kurt’s face, his clothes a light shade of yellow.

“It’s not really your color” She stood up, brushing off her pants.

The comment seemed to wipe the shock off his face.

“How dare you, I look _so good_ in yellow” He struck a pose, puffing out his chest. “It brings out my eyes.”

“Oh, I’m sorry” She giggled, walking over to him. “How can I make it up to you?”

“A kiss from such a lovely _Madchen_ would be enough” He put his hand under her chin, leaning in.

She smiled into the kiss, but still kept the fact that he was covered in paint in the back of her mind.

“Ew, stop it, Kurt, she’s my sister!” They parted, both of them chuckling. “You two are awful!”

“Monsters” Jean whispered to them, a smirk on her face.

Kurt stuck his tongue out, hugging Violette to him.

“Kurt, you little sh-” Violette saw the look Storm was giving her. “Sh-shoelace. I look like the sun from the Teletubbies now!”

“You’re much cuter than that soulless demon, liebchen.”

“Shut up you twerp” She tried to hide her smile. “I’m going back inside to change.”

“You need any help?”

“ _Kurt_!”

“I’m sorry, ma’am.”

Violette chuckled, unwrapping his arms from around her body. She walked in, waving to Bobby and Mr. McCoy.

“Why is it so dark in here, guys?”

Beast waved back to her, a smirk on his face, while Bobby dropped his head onto the keyboard. The lights flickered on for a second. Violette decided not to ask any more questions, instead making her way to her room.

Her own room.

It was much space-y than her old one. It was much brighter, too, and a lot cleaner. It still didn’t feel entirely like home, but it was alright.

She changed her clothes and put the stained ones away. Living on the streets taught her not to throw anything away. She could use them once they dried off.

Violette walked over to her mirror, her eyes zeroing on a splash of paint she had on her nose. She groaned, walking out and praying that the bathroom wasn’t occupied.

She took a step out of her room when Kitty descended from the ceiling and landed on her.

‘ _What is it with people and crashing into me?’_

Violette felt something weird in her chest. Kitty apologized, looking around for something, before turning to Violette ad unceremoniously putting her hand in her chest.

“Oi, what’s wrong with you?” She exclaimed before she saw Kitty take an apple out of her. “Ew.”

Kitty shrugged, throwing the apple in the trash can inside Violette’s room. She stood up, offering her hand to the older girl.

“Thanks” Violette shook her head, feeling a bit uneasy. When Kitty started to walk off, she gave in to her curiosity. “Kitty?”

“Hmm?” She turned around offering her a smile.

“Are you ever going to forgive Lance?”

Kitty opened her mouth as if to say something, before closing it shut and thinking over her answer.

“I don’t know” She sighed. “So, like, how’s quitting?”

“It’s awful.”

* * *

 

It was Saturday, six in the morning, and she was not only up, but also practicing combat.

‘ _I’m really starting to regret this.’_

She tried to stop Roberto from throwing her down on the mat again, but it was to no avail. She wasn’t sure why Wolvie would put her up against a 5’10, muscular teenage boy, but it wasn’t even a bad idea, it was disastrous.

For her, that is.

“Okay, Hotshot, hit the bench. Wrecking Ball, you’re next.”

Violette groaned, standing up on shaky feet. Thankfully, Sam was a bit smaller than Roberto and much skinnier, which gave her a slight advantage.

‘ _Okay, Spectre, kick his ass.’_

She really liked Sam, but she had to show Wolvie that she wasn’t a total loser. She knew Sam would feel awful if he hurt her in the slightest way, so she had to take her chance.

She ran over to him and ducked under his light blow, landing a punch to his stomach. He tried to kick her, but she caught his leg and pushed it back, making him fall over like the twig of a tree that he was.

“Okay, Casper, get off, you earned it.”

Violette threw her hands in the air, walking off the mat. She sat down next to Bobby, one of the few mutants completely at ease with her. She seemed to gain Amara’s trust via Tabitha, and Jean and Kitty were warming up to her, but only Bobby, Ray, Kurt and Jamie were perfectly fine with her.

“So, newbie” Bobby wrapped his arm around her shoulder, leaning in. “Tell me, are you ready to show where your loyalties lay?”

“Uhm, yeah?” She shrugged his arm off, raising an eyebrow. “But if it involves egging the Boarding House, I’m out the door.”

“Nah, don’t worry” He chuckled, before turning to the mat. “Hey, Ray, Violette’s coming!”

“Cool!” Ray gave them a thumbs up, trying to get out of Sam’s headlock.

“Ice Pop, stop distracting Batteries over there! And you, stay focused!”

“Where am I coming?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“To Evan’s skating competition.”

* * *

 

Violette walked out of the bathroom, finally feeling like a human being after taking a shower. She walked down to the kitchen, stretching on her way in.

“Morning” Kurt appeared in front of her, giving her a cup of coffee.

“God, thank you” She took it, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “So, what are you up to?”

“I told the guys that I won’t come to Evan’s competition unless they convinced you to go” He shrugged, smirking. “Apparently, they did.”

“So that’s what’s going on” She chuckled, taking a sip. “So, me, you, Bobby, Ray… Anyone else?”

“Me!” Jamie hugged her, a huge smile on his face. “It’s gonna be awesome!”

“Sure thing, kiddo” Violette messed up his hair, before walking over to the table and taking an apple.

“Hey, Rogue, you want to come with us?” Kurt ported next to the goth, grabbing a toast and buttering it up.

“It’s not really my style” She said, keeping her eyes on her crossword.

“Whatever you say” He ported back to Violette and Jamie and stuffed the toast into his mouth, before grabbing them and porting to the garage.

* * *

 

“I have no idea what is going on, but it’s exciting!” Violette yelled over the crowd to Kurt, a wide smile on her face.

“Good to know you’re enjoying yourself” He laughed, before wincing when one of the competitors landed on a railing crotch first.

Evan launched into the air with so much control and grace Violette was suddenly reminded of Pietro and the way he played basketball. While they all stumbled or missed terribly, he took every step and shot with uncanny precision.

She shook her head, trying to get these thoughts out of her head. She missed them all terribly, but it wasn’t like she could do anything about it.

Violette turned to Ray, but he wasn’t looking at the pit, his narrowed eyes focused on something below the stands. She followed his gaze, noticing someone standing in a long, dark, heavy coat on a hot, April afternoon.

She was about to ask him about that since she was sure something other than outwear alarmed him enough to ignore the competition completely when the scoreboard started to fall on the tribune.

The crowd started to panic, everyone frantically running off the stands. Storm and Iceman took care of the board, but the damage was done. Panicking crowds with children in the middle weren’t really something you wanted to see.

Violette lost Kurt and Jamie but decided not to worry about the former, focusing on the latter instead. She scanned the crowd, knowing that if anyone just as much as shoved Jamie with more force than usual he’d make the crowd even bigger, something they’d rather avoid happening. Although she didn’t find Jamie, she did saw a young boy trip, the crowd’s feet barely missing him. She flew towards him, raising him up in the air. She could feel in her arms that she was going to regret holding him up for that long, but instead of settling him back down, she flew down to the ground and left him on the nearest park bench. She looked around, trying to find anyone, before her eyes settled on Jamie calmly walking down to her, trying his hardest not to bump into anyone.

She ran over, quickly looking him over for any injuries, before asking him about everyone else.

“Kurt should be around here somewhere, Ray ran off God knows where saying that he thinks he knows where Evan is and Miss Munroe is right there” He pointed behind her. She turned around and saw Storm holding a bottle of the whole new Pow-R 8 drink. “Why can’t we ever go anywhere without it turning into a mess?”

“I ask myself this every other Tuesday” She sighed, grabbing his wrist and tugging him towards the woman.

* * *

 

When Ray finally called and told them where Evan was, Storm divided them into smaller groups.

It was a mess.

“I refuse” Roberto raised his hand when Ororo told him to join Ray’s team. Bobby chuckled silently, leaning over to Amara to whisper something. “Hey, what did you say?”

“Nothing” He raised his hands, an evil smirk on his face. “ _Crybaby_.”

“Oh, that’s it, we’ll see how fast you melt, Icicle!”

“Stop!” Wolvie growled, taking over. “Team leaders will be Cyclops, Half-Pint, Stripes, and Smurf. Since you newbies have already been there, you will have to act as guides. Cowboy, Flashback Junior” Jamie and Sam saluted. “You join Half-Pint. Beast, you go with them just in case. Icecube, Hotshot, you’ll join Stripes – God knows she’ll be able to take you two idiots down” Wolverine pondered something for a second. “On a second thought, Storm, you’ll help her. Voltage, you’ll team up with Red and Cyclops” He put a cigar into his mouth, lighting it up. “Which leaves us with” He looked up, scanning the leftover New Mutants. “No.”

“Oh, but come on!” Kurt gave him a toothy smile, putting his arms around Violette and Amara’s shoulders. “We’ll make a great team.”

“There’s no way I’m letting you two be on the same team.”

“Logan, we don’t have the time for that” Storm rolled her eyes, walking off to the X-jet. “Okay people, let’s move.”

That’s how Violette ended up walking around the sewer with Amara, while Kurt was porting around them.

“So, how’s it going?” She really wanted to brush her hair out of her eyes, but she didn’t want her hands anywhere near her face.

“I’m texting a bad guy!” Violette jumped, not expecting Amara of all people to randomly yell. “I-I mean, it’s fine.”

“Wait, what do you mean a ‘bad guy’?”

Kurt appeared in front of them for a second just to say that he was going right now instead of left. They both nodded, resuming their conversation once he was gone.

“Like, an enemy. It’s not my fault, we met at that goddamn club!”

“Whoa, girl, you mean you’ve been texting him since _February_?” Violette stopped. “Wait, you said you two met at the club.”

“Y-yeah.”

“So, it’s not one of the B-hood boys.”

“No.”

“Shit, you’re in a mess.”

“I know!” Amara leaned against the bricks, sinking down. “I wanted to stop after I found out, but… He doesn’t even know I’m a mutant, so there’s no way he can be using me to get to the Professor or something.”

“First of all” Violette sat down next to her, trying to ignore their surroundings. “Which one it is and how old is he? Second of all” She nudged Amara so she’d finally look at her. “Why are you telling this to _me_ of all people?”

“Pyro, he’s nineteen and I guess because you kind of know how it’s like” She shrugged.

“Honey, Kurt’s not a psychotic pyromaniac.”

“John’s not a psycho!” She dropped her gaze, wrapping her arms around her knees. “He’s just eccentric.”

“Course he is” Violette rolled her eyes, getting up. She offered her hand to Amara. “Come on, let’s find Evan” The younger girl accepted her help. When she got up, Violette bit her lip, thinking about how to say it. “Thank you. For trusting me.”

“You and Tabby were friends” Amara smiled. “That’s already trustworthy for me.”


	22. III: Birthday Celebrations Are So Two Years Ago

Violette couldn’t really say that she was ever close to Evan, but him joining the Morlocks still affected her. It made her feel like maybe she and Summers might never get along because Spyke’s disappearance made him even colder towards her.

‘ _Great.’_

She may have been the only one who didn’t criticize Evan for his decision. She knew it hurt Storm, but to her, at seventeen, Evan was old enough to make this kind of a decision. Or maybe it was because she knew how it was to be the bad guy fighting for the right cause.

Either way, she still wasn’t exactly welcome in the Institute. So when her birthday came around, she decided to not say anything about it, not wanting them to feel obligated to be nice to her or anything.

She woke up, prepared for a morning session with Wolverine, met Jamie in the hallway and stuffed his mouth with an emergency handful of marshmallows, just so he wouldn’t wish her a ‘Happy Birthday’ in front of Roberto. Just to be sure it would work, Violette sent him a glare, while simultaneously shaking her head.

That still didn’t stop Jamie from trying.

She spent the whole session clapping her hand over his mouth and talking over him, just to make sure no one would hear about her birthday. Afterward, she practically ran off to the showers, before hiding in her bedroom.

She silently packed her backpack, trying to think of a route out of the house without anyone noticing her before she froze.

‘ _I’m so stupid.’_

She grabbed her things and opened her door, looking around to see if the hallway was empty. Satisfied that no one could possibly see her, she closed her door behind herself, ready to turn invisible.

Of course, it couldn’t be that easy.

She heard the characteristic sound of him crossing dimensions – _‘It’s still kind of freaky to think of it this way’_ – even before the smell of sulfur hit her nose. He wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her neck.

“ _Guten Morgen_.”

Normally every German word containing ‘r’ that rolled off his tongue would result in her melting against him, but not today. She was on edge and not even Kurt could help with it.

“Hey, what’s going on?” He turned her around, concerned.

She was about to convince him that everything was perfectly fine, but she just had to have the worst luck. Jamie ran from around the corner and jumped on her, effectively ripping her from Kurt’s arms before she could ask him to port them out.

“Happy birthday!” He let go of her, before looking down at his palm. “ _Q-que tous vos désirs se-se réalisent_ ” He looked up at her, a bright smile on his face. “Did I say that right?”

Violette was shell-shocked. She blinked a couple of times before a huge grin made its way onto her face. She hugged him, laughing.

“You said that perfectly” He really didn’t, but it was still more than she ever expected. “Thank you. But, where did you learn that?”

“I asked Mr. Logan” He huffed, taking a step back. “Come on, he’s _Canadian_ ” Jamie kissed her cheek, before running off. “Have fun at school!”

“I’ll try!” She yelled back, turning to Kurt. He was standing in the same spot, his jaw on the floor. “What?”

“It’s your birthday?!”

“Well, kinda.”

“And you didn’t even tell me?!”

“It’s not a big deal” She shrugged, walking towards the stairs. She knew he’d follow her. “I mean, seventeenth birthday isn’t even _that_ special.”

“It is if it’s yours!” He took her hand, lightly squeezing it to get her attention. “We’re going to a fancy restaurant.”

“ _We_ don’t have the money for a fancy restaurant” She rolled her eyes, walking down to the kitchen.

She was sure that the minute they walked into the room Kurt would drop it, but he kept talking about it.

“Then at least I’ll get you a really good cake.”

“I don’t want cake” She sighed, walking to the counter and taking one of the prepared glasses of orange juice.

“I want cake!” Bobby jumped out of nowhere, taking a hold of Violette’s glass and chilling the juice. She ripped it out of his hand, marching to the table. “What? She likes warm juice or something?”

“She doesn’t want to do anything and it’s her birthday!” Kurt thanked Bobby when he did the same to his glass. “Come on, Violette, we need to do _something_.”

“It’s your birthday?” Ray looked up from his bowl of cereal. “Damn girl, you’re getting old.”

“Is it your eighteenth?” Kitty sprung up to life with a cheerful smile on her face.

“No and Ray, you’re just as old as I am” She stuck out her tongue, making herself a sandwich.

“Why aren’t you happy?” Asked Amara, who was the referee for Sam and Roberto’s thumb war. “I’d give anything to be seventeen.”

“Cause birthdays aren’t such a big deal” Violette rolled her eyes, sighing. “Especially mine.”

“Wow, you’re turning into me” Rogue looked up from her crossword for a second just to show her a sarcastic smile. “Look out, next week she’ll get highlights.”

“Oh, ha, ha” Violette stood up, suddenly losing her appetite. “Sam, strawberry jam and cheese. You up?”

“Sure” She handed the sandwich to him when Amara let the guys take a five. She’s never seen such an intense thumb war. “What?” He asked when everyone at the table except for Violette made a face as he bit the sandwich. “It’s really good!”

“Sure, Sammy” She heard Roberto snort as she exited the kitchen.

Kurt ported right in front of her, his arms crossed over his chest.

“What?” She mimicked his pose, raising an eyebrow.

He sighed, sticking out his arm for her to hold.

“We’re still doing something.”

“In your dreams” She took a hold of his hand, feeling the rush of teleportation go through her.

* * *

 

“Don’t tell me you’re taking me to the Gut Bomb” Violette looked up at Kurt with a questioning gaze when they stopped in front of the Mall.

He didn’t say anything about her birthday during school but as soon as the last bell rung, he was by her side, pulling her towards God knows where.

“No, come on, I’m better than that, _liebchen_!” He chuckled, leading her to the coffee shop. She narrowed her full of suspicion eyes. “I know you miss coffee.”

She really did, especially since Wolverine told her to quit. Coffee was always the best at covering up the smell of cigarettes, but since Storm put an ironclad rule of one cup of coffee a week for every student, she not only craved the dark liquid, but also nicotine.

“What next, you’re gonna buy me a pack of cigarettes?” She smiled, her voice softening. “Okay, let’s go.”

They walked into the café, ordering their drinks and cheesecake – _‘C’mon Kurt, it’s my birthday’ ‘And suddenly you’re actually enjoying it?’_ – before sitting down.

It was nice. They rarely got to go out and do something in between their training sessions, school, and all the mutant drama. People threw her nasty looks every once in a while, but both her and Kurt took care of that. Everything was going great, up until Todd showed up.

He burst into the café, jumping onto Kurt and throwing him off his chair, both of them sliding across the floor and knocking tables over. Violette wanted to step in, but Kurt kept teleporting them to avoid hitting people, his image inducer turning on and off non-stop. A cloud of smoke appeared in front of her and she felt her stomach get hit with a ball of slime, before Todd jumped over her, yelling that he’ll maybe give it back sometime.

Kurt quickly grabbed her, pressing her to his chest and they disappeared in the smoke, reappearing in her room.

Violette felt Kurt breathe heavily, his chest moving right against hers. They stood there for a second before she realized why exactly they didn’t even move an inch since they ported.

They were stuck.

And it wasn’t the least bit sexy. Violette’s shirt was glued to Kurt’s uniform with slime, which didn’t smell nice at all.

They tried to separate every way possible while maintaining as much dignity as they could before they were back in the same place, only now Violette was breathing heavily along with Kurt.

“We have to do this.”

“No, there’s no way-”

“Kurt, we have no other options” He sighed, defeated. “Now, you’ll need to help me a bit.”

“I can be the one who-”

“Oh, really? Your one-piece uniform is glued to my shirt, tell me, how do you think you can get out of it without killing us both?”

“You may have a point.”

“Anyway, I’ll have to back up and you’ll have to hold it, cause I don’t know what I’ll do if I get my hair stuck in it too.”

“Okay.”

Violette took a deep breath, before worming her way out of the shirt, with Kurt holding the damn piece of fabric in place.

She heard the door burst open, but she had no idea who did that since her head was stuck in the shirt.

“Hey Violette, can you-” Of course it had to be Bobby, who has never before really even been in her room. Bobby, who no doubt will tell everyone what he thought he saw. She could see his pretentious smirk in her mind. “Oh, as I see you can’t.”

The door closed as rapidly as they opened and Violette finally got out of the shirt.

“Shit” She concluded, seeing Kurt’s blushing face. He tried to stutter out something, before porting out to change. “Great.”

She put on a shirt and walked out, set to get to Kurt’s room as soon as possible.

Sam emerged from the depths of his room, raising his hand. She saw his lips moving and she felt awful for doing that, but she didn’t really have the time.

“Shush” Violette put her finger to her lips, passing him. “I’m sorry, I’m just busy.”

She got to Kurt’s room, knocking on his door.

“Kurt?”

He let her in, sighing and sitting on his bed. She looked around his room, unsure as to where she should sit. She finally opted for the floor, right in front of him.

“Are you okay?” She put her hands on his knees, her thumbs drawing circles on his jeans.

“I just – ugh” He grunted, his hands buried deep in his hair. “I’m just tired of pretending.”

“Pretending?” She had a bad feeling about this. “Kurt, you know you can tell me anything, right?”

“I know” He let out a huge breath, his whole body sagging. “Okay, so, I’m not as comfortable with this… Physical and verbal… Thing.”

“Thing?” She raised her eyebrow.

“I just tried to be this open and alluring guy because I know you’re really comfortable with this stuff, but… I just can’t.”

“Kurt” She sighed, taking her hands off his knees, a shy smile on her face. “You just had to say something.”

“I know, I know” He took her hands and put them back, smiling back. “It’s just that I don’t want you to be disappointed. I mean, you’ve dated Pietro.”

“For twelve hours” She chuckled. “And I’m not into Pietro” She leaned forward, getting up. “I’m into this cute, gentle, incredible guy.”

They shared an innocent kiss before he leaned back.

“Still. I mean, I can recite some parts of the Bible in German. That’s not something that screams sexy.”

“But it’s you” She put her hands on his cheeks, the fur tickling her palms. “And that’s more than enough for me” She sighed, straightening up. “Anyway, I’ll go to the Brotherhood and look for your watch there, okay?”

“It’s an image inducer.”

“Yeah, whatever. I’ll look for it in there. You can either stay in the safety of this mansion or look for Toad on the streets.”

“I think I’ll stay here.”

“Suit yourself.”

* * *

 

Violette landed in front of the Boarding House, trying to mentally prepare herself for the Brotherhood’s harsh words. It’s been a while since she last saw them, but the image of them in their torn up costumes still haunted her.

‘ _Try to fit in and deny it all you want, but you still care. You always will.’_

She knocked on the door, not surprised when they didn’t answer. She walked in, ready to strike if it came to that.

‘ _As if you could.’_

When no threat came her way, she walked into the living room, zapping the armchair right next to Lance’s head.

“For fuck’s sake!” He threw his can of soda at her, but she side-stepped, avoiding the blow. “What do you want?”

“Where’s Todd?” She crossed her arms over her chest, huffing.

“What am I, his babysitter?” He rolled his eyes. She raised her eyebrow, sending him a knowing look. Lance sighed, turning off the TV. “Pietro, Fred, have you seen Todd?”

She felt wind hit her bare neck as Pietro rested his elbow on her head. Freddy’s voice came from the kitchen, expressing his lack of knowledge.

“He’s probably stalking Wanda” Pietro patted her shoulder, before sitting on the couch. “Oh, and happy birthday.”

“Thanks” She mocked his knowing smirk. “I’m gonna go. I can’t stand the smell of people who disappoint me.”

She turned around, not ready to hear Fred of all people stop her.

“I’m sorry, Violette” His massive hand was on her shoulder as his eyes stared deeply into hers.

“Me too” She shook her head, turning invisible and flying out.

She really wanted to forgive them. Deep down, she wanted for things to be the same as they were. To chat with Freddy while he cooked, to sit in silence and just listen to music with Lance, to banter with Pietro, to do stupid things with Todd. It would have been so easy, to forget about the whole Mystique drama.

She couldn’t, not when her brother’s life was endangered and they made sure she had no idea.

When she got back to the mansion, the first thing she did was get to Kurt’s room, but before she could open the door, Roberto of all people put his hand on it.

“Hey, Vio-”

“I’m really sorry, but it’s an emergency.”

She set free a tiny zap, making him take his hand off. She opened the door, ran in and shut it close behind her.

“Why does everyone want something from me?” She turned around, freezing. No wonder she couldn’t find Todd in the Boarding House since he was apparently too busy fighting with her boyfriend.

The three of them stared at each other for a second before something in Violette snapped and she lunged at Todd, effectively throwing him off of Kurt and pinning him down.

“You dumb fuck” She put her knee on his stomach and pushed it down. He yelped. “Give it back!”

“I-I can’t yo” He chuckled nervously. Violette pushed her knee into his abdomen with more force. “Ow okay, okay! But ya’ have to help me. Wanda’s been taken.”

“By whom?” Kurt stood up and brushed himself off. “And why would we?”

“Cause ya of all people know how it feels to hide yo’self for the sake of those we care ‘bout” Violette froze, her hands tightening on Todd’s wrists. “Magneto’s taken her. Please.”

She looked at Kurt, who nodded. She stood up, letting go off Todd.

“We will help you” He offered Todd his hand. The other boy took it and let Kurt pull him up. Once Todd was back on his feet, Kurt pulled him closer, growling. “But if it’s some kind of trap, I’m going to drop you off in the stratosphere.”

Todd squealed, raising his hands into the air. Kurt let go of him, groaning.

* * *

 

“ _Violette, ya turn invisible, so why dontcha fly ‘round ‘n’ check this shit out, yo_ ” She mocked Todd underneath her breath, making sure both Pyro and Gambit passed her by. She feared she might get discovered for a second when Gambit turned around quickly with his hand in his pocket, but luckily Pyro saved her by laughing his ass off, telling him there was nothing there. “ _Ja, it might be a good idea, liebchen_ ” She rolled her eyes, flying back to the guys. “Sealed doors on the other side of the hallway, about twenty feet to the right.”

“Got it” Kurt took a hold of her arm, porting all three of them.

They landed inside a huge room, which, luckily, was exactly where they kept Wanda. And although they didn’t say a word, the guy who was standing right next to her started to call for Magneto. She flew off, punching the guy down and sighing.

“Why do we even try stealth missions when telepaths exist?”

“Because they seem cool” Kurt ported right next to her, while Todd jumped down towards Wanda. Violette could hear a commotion in the hall.

“Hurry up, Todd” She turned towards the younger boy. He looked ridiculous in her opinion and she’s never peg blonde, huge Germans as Wanda’s type, but it wasn’t really her role to judge.

“Can’t ya, like, zap ‘em off or somethin’” The doors opened, Magneto and his guys running in.

“I might fry her” She ran over, tapping Kurt’s arm on her way there.

“I’ve got it” He ported in front of Wanda and grabbed her, teleporting to Todd and laying her in his arms. "Time to go!”

Violette held onto Kurt’s forearm for dear life and allowed herself to breathe only when she felt Todd take a step back from them.

“That was an unnecessarily stressful way of spending this afternoon” She rested her head in the crook of Kurt’s neck, her hands traveling up to his shoulders. “Next time, I pick what we’re doing.”

“So next year you will be celebrating your birthday?” He wrapped his arms around her, his tail brushing against her calf.

“Maybe” She let go and turned to Todd, a sad smile on her face. “She won’t be happy.”

“But he will be.”

* * *

 

They just teleported into her room when she said something that’s been bothering her since they first started to help Todd out.

“Do you still think of yourself like that?” She asked, stepping back from his arms to have a clear look at his face. “Like you’re a _freak_?”

“ _Violette_ ” He sighed, sitting on his bed. “Last time I checked, I was still blue and fuzzy. It’s not exactly considered normal.”

“Fuck normal” She threw her hands in the air. “I can turn invisible, fly and shoot weird beams out of my fingers! It’s not like I’m normal either” She sat next to him, putting her hand on his knee. “I know it’s easier to hide, but I don’t want to hide anymore. Fuck people and what they think about you, Kurt” She put her other hand on his cheek and turned his head so he was now looking at her. “Because to me, you’re incredible, handsome, sexy and there’s nothing that could change my mind” She could see the same doubt in his eyes she’s seen when they talked about physicality. “Kurt, you know that I’m attracted to you right?”

He didn’t answer.

“Oh, Kurt” She sighed. “Is it still about this Bible and Pietro thing? Cause let me tell you, I couldn’t care less about either of those right now.”

“I’m just always afraid that I’m not enough” He took her hand off his face, kissing her palm.

“You-You’re afraid that you’re not enough?” She paused, blinking. “Kurt, I know my worth and I think it’s about time you’ve learned yours” She tucked her legs underneath her butt, taking both of his hands into hers. “This is not about being ‘worthy’ of somebody or something. That’s not what relationships are about. Neither of us should feel like we have to be something we’re not” She licked her lips, feeling her eyes prickle with tears. “Kurt, you’re more than anyone could wish for and you have to know that. You can’t put yourself down just because you don’t look like everyone else. It’s not fair to you” He squeezed her hands, his thumbs rubbing her knuckles. “I’m fucking damaged goods, alright? I take too long to trust other people, I’m grumpy and bitchy and I smoke” She put her finger up, signaling that she wasn’t finished, knowing that he was about to interrupt and deny it. “But you know what all these things have in common? They’re not about my appearance. I spent too long thinking how I wasn’t as skinny as Kitty, or as curvy as Rogue, or how my hair wasn’t as nice as Jean’s, or how Tabitha oozed sex appeal and I could never do that. And you know what? I wasted my time, cause I’m me and that’s all I’ll ever be and there’s no point in trying to be someone else. Tell me, when you look at me, do you compare me to Kitty or Amara? Or do you just see me.”

“I just see you” He let go of her hands, putting his own on her cheeks.

“Exactly” She smiled, leaning in and kissing him. “Now come on, let’s eat. Emotions make me hungry.”

He chuckled, porting them into the kitchen.

“Surprise!”

Violette acted before she could even fully get what was going on. She jumped in front of Kurt, pressing her hand onto his back so that he was completely hidden behind her, raising her other hand, ready to fire. If there was an immediate threat, there was no need to turn invisible, since they already showed their positions to the enemy and she still couldn’t really fly while carrying anyone.

Amara froze, a cake in her hands. The rest of the mutants were visibly confused, exchanging nervous looks. Kurt delicately took her hand off his back, straightening up.

“Don’t shoot, we have pizza!” Bobby snickered, waving his arms up in surrender.

Violette dropped her hand, chuckling nervously. The rest of the New Mutants seemed to relax.

“So, is that why you were all trying to talk to me or something?”

“We were trying to make sure you didn’t ruin the surprise” Ray walked over to her, a smirk on his face. “Luckily, you and Kurt were busy.”

She felt her cheeks turn red and knew very well Kurt must have also been blushing. She kicked Ray, huffing.

“We were helping Toad.”

“Yeah, sure. Anyway, here’s a little something from all of us” He put a small package into her hands.

She looked over her shoulder, shooting Kurt a questioning glance.

“Were you in on this?”

“Just a tiny bit.”

“I hate you” She sighed, opening the package.

She looked down at the box in her hands, raising an eyebrow.

“I thought it would be funny” Bobby shrugged his shoulders, smiling.

“It’s not” She opened the cigarette box and shook its contents out onto her hand. She raised the necklace in front of her face, watching as the small silver X twirled and reflected the kitchen lights.

“We didn’t really have much time, so we just sent Amara to find you something” Sam sent her a warm smile.

“Do you like it?” Jamie was bouncing in anticipation, grinning widely.

“I love it” She didn’t really wear jewelry, but the fact that they went as far as to buy her anything meant the world to her.

“Okay, guys, let me through” Amara walked over with the cake, practically shoving it in Violette’s face.

“Where did you get the cake?” She took a step back, not wanting her hair to catch fire from the lit up candles.

“I made it” Roberto said offhandedly, but she knew he was really waiting for her to stroke his ego. “Make a wish, before the wax ruins it.”

She rolled her eyes, blowing up the candles. Amara put the cake down, taking out the candles. Jamie bounced up to Violette.

“What did you wish for?”

‘ _To stop feeling bad about leaving the Brotherhood behind.’_

She smiled, ruffling his hair.

“If I told you, it wouldn’t come true” She turned to Kurt and grabbed his hand, tugging him towards the cake. “Let’s try this cake and compliment Roberto before his ego deflates.”

Kurt chuckled, letting her lead him to the table.

‘ _And for Kurt to start loving himself.’_ She cut the cake into slices, handing them out to the people she considered her friends. She took Kurt’s one and smashed it into his mouth, chuckling. He stood there frozen for half a second, before leaning down and kissing her, smearing the cake all over her face. The New Mutants cheered and she couldn’t help but giggle, feeling so carefree and _normal_ for a change. _‘At least as much as I love him.’_


	23. III: Having Fun Is For People Who Have Nothing Better To Do

It was awful. No, it was beyond awful – it was _atrocious_. She really couldn’t stand it.

Looking at Kurt has turned painful all of a sudden.

It was even worse than when she first started liking him. Back then she’d just get tongue tied or maybe turn red, but no, now it was so much worse.

She wouldn’t turn red now, oh no, she’d stay the same color, but her chest would swell up, her heartbeat would quicken and her throat would close up, making her feel as if she was choking.

Love turned out to be much more uncomfortable than the whole world made it out to be.

She wouldn’t tell him, of course. It would be silly – they were dating for what, two months? That would be crazy and it would make him feel like she was expecting something from him and then he’d say things he might regret and confess feelings he didn’t have and it would just mess up everything and she was quite happy where she was.

* * *

 

The problem was, Kurt wasn’t an idiot. He noticed how suddenly she went back to being awkward and uncomfortable around him. But, luckily, unlike a normal person, he didn’t sit her down and talked to her about it or made a he fuss out of it. Oh no, he just decided that they needed to get out of the house more, since usually every problem anyone ever had at the Xavier’s Institute for Gifted Youngsters was caused by Bobby.

She was in the middle of getting taught how to do her Math homework by Ray – who she had to beg for good ten minutes before he even considered doing it – when a cloud of smoke appeared in front of her, effectively choking her.

“What the… Fuck” Ray waved his hand in front of his face, coughing out his lungs. “Can’t he… I don’t know… Just walk up to… You?”

She ignored him, waving back the smoke to reveal two tickets laying on her notebook.

“Nah” She coughed, but it didn’t stop a smile from appearing on her face. “It’s more fun… This way.”

And it really was. Although the smell of sulfur started to cling to her clothes and hair, she preferred it this way – it was something so exclusively Kurt and she didn’t want him to stop using his powers because of something as silly as a bit of smoke.

The next morning she walked down to the kitchen and put the tickets down in front of Kurt, a huge smile on her face.

“I’m in.”

He swallowed his cereal, before reciprocating with a smile of his own. He passed her an apple, before taking her hand and teleporting. They landed in Jean’s new car, Violette sitting in Kurt’s lap.

“…going out!”

“Who’s going out?” Kurt asked, helping Violette climb back in between Kitty and Rogue. She bit into the apple and nodded to the girls, before fastening her seatbelt.

“Jean and Scott, can you believe it?” Kitty leaned forward, giggling.

“Really? It’s about time!”

Violette rolled her eyes while Rogue groaned, turning to the window.

Violette, like any other girl her age, did enjoy the usual gossip from time to time, but living with four guys made her unable to stand it for long periods of time. She decided to focus on her breakfast, instead of the giggling of her boyfriend and his best friend.

Turns out, Rouge hated it much more than her, since she almost growled at the two, telling them to drop it.

‘ _Okay, so, she’s in a bad mood today’_ Violette scooted over to Kitty a bit, just to be on the safe side. _‘Or at least worse than usual.’_

* * *

 

“Violette!”

She sighed, walking away from her mirror and opening her door, raising an eyebrow at her panicked brother.

“What’s up?”

“Kitty agreed to go to the concert with me!” He threw his hands up into the air, stomping past her. “What am I going to do? It has to be perfect but I don’t know _how_ to make it perfect!”

“Wait, wait, wait” She raised her finger to stop him. “A girl who is two years older than you agreed to go to a concert with you?”

“What, is it that surprising?”

“To be honest, _yes_.”

Jamie sighed, his whole posture slumping.

“She said she had no one else to go with.”

Violette winced, slowly walking up to him and patting his shoulder.

“Jamie, you’re thirteen. Don’t bum yourself down because of girls yet, okay? They’ll come around” She smiled. “In the meantime, let’s make sure it will be a night Kitty won’t forget.”

“How are we gonna do that?”

Violette tried to figure out whether or not to do this, but then again, Kitty surely _won’t_ forget something like this.

“I have an idea” She smirked evilly.

‘ _No one tells my brother he’s their last choice without some consequences’_ She took Jamie’s arm and started to drag him towards his room. _‘I’m curious to see how you’re going to explain a middle schooler in a tux on your arm to your girlfriends, Pryde.’_

* * *

 

If there was one person Violette didn’t expect to see at the concert, it was Tabitha.

So, naturally, she was the first person she and Kurt bumped into.

“Violette! Blue!” She yelled over the noise, her hands resting on their shoulders. “I haven’t seen you two for a while!”

“What are you doing here?!” Kurt was so close to her his yell hurt her ears, but she didn’t have the heart to tell him that.

“Having fun!” She giggled, twirling around. “I love this song!”

Violette was about to say something – anything, really, she had so much questions for the girl – but the crowd separated them from the blonde. She squeezed Kurt’s arm harder, not wanting to lose him. They finally stopped in a pretty good spot, not feeling up for pushing their way through a crowd.

The deafening music, the beat thrumming through her veins, the heat radiating from the bodies around them, it all reminded her of Boom Boom’s birthday. Back then she let the feel of the underground club take control, but now she knew better. Kurt wasn’t very comfortable with public displays of affection and all the sexual things and now that she knew that, she felt as if she had violated him in that club.

Violette shook her head, trying to clear out her mind. ‘ _No need to feel even more guilty about the whole ordeal._ ’

And Kurt didn’t seem as worried about it as her, instead of that he sang along and moved his to the rhythm, his arm around her shoulders. She took a deep breath and relaxed against his side.

The night would have been perfect if only Sabertooth wouldn’t have appeared.

When the shock washed over her, Violette pushed her fear down and turned into Spectre. Her breathing slowed down as she flew over the crowd, making sure none of the kids were near the commotion, before firing her energy blasts at the man. They didn’t affect him much but did make him stumble back. Scott took over and she used the occasion to try to locate Jamie.

She heard a crush and a body hit her. She wrapped her arms around it, trying to slow down their fall. Kurt shook his head, tapping her arm so that she would let go of him, before porting towards Juggernaut.

‘ _Wait, Juggernaut?’_

Violette decided to ignore the twisting feeling in her gut that told her something was terribly wrong and instead went back to sending beams of energy at the bad guy. She stopped for a second to charge her next shot when Jamie suddenly appeared only to throw himself at Juggernaut.

‘ _Oh, I’m going to kill him.’_

She tried to hold the energy in, clenching her fist to avoid the beams from going anywhere in case they might hurt someone, ready to burn her own palm if necessary. She bit her tongue, ready for the blow, but nothing came. Instead, her whole hand started to glow, turning into a blue mass.

“What the...?”

The energy disappeared as quickly as it came, her hand going back to its normal appearance. Juggernaut threw Jamie off, running through a wall, Mystique of all people following him out.

Violette flew down to her brother, checking him over while his dupes made sure he was safe.

“For fuck’s sake” She groaned when Kitty ran over and they both tried to lift him. After they both dragged him for a few meters he seemed to regain his consciousness, calling in his dupes.

“Enjoying yourself?” His head rested on Kitty’s shoulder, his mouth forming a small smile. “Good. Let’s do this again sometime.”

Kitty rolled her eyes and as soon as they reached Scott practically threw the boy into his arms.

“Oi, careful” Violette showed her, putting her hand on Jamie’s head. “How are you feeling sweetheart?”

Scott mouthed ‘Sweetheart?’ to Kurt, causing Violette to kick his shin.

“I’m great” He chuckled as his lids started to drop. “Just a bit… Sleepy.”

“Nuh-uh, you might have a concussion, so no sleeping” She sighed. “Scott, can you drop him off at the Institute? We didn’t really think about bringing a car.”

“Sure thing” He once again mouthed ‘Sweetheart?’ to Kurt and started to walk out of the building, Jean right behind him.

Violette turned to Kurt and grabbed his arm, the world around them fading away in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

 

Spectre stared in wonder at Rogue, her mouth dropping.

“Is that... Is that my power?” She whispered, watching the pure energy that Rogue now was fly over their heads. The surrounding air crackled with it, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

“It is” Kurt didn’t seem as happy, keeping a watchful eye on the figure.

She could sense there was something wrong even beyond Rogue’s powers getting crazy and was about to ask him about it when he grabbed her and ported them behind the nearest car.

“What’s going on?”

“Last time I saw that Quicksilver got fried” He looked over the hood before crouching, the blue energy hitting the wall behind them. “And you weren’t even half as bad as she is now.”

Sunspot and Berzerker ran over to her just as Kurt ported towards Cyclops, Jean, and Wolverine.

“It’s not pretty at all” Iceman rolled over to them after being hit by one of the beams. Ray winced. “Shit, Iceman, you okay?”

“I’m fine” He watched as Magma tried to hit her with fire, but she blocked the attack with Jean’s powers. “Magma, retreat!”

The girl ran over to them, turning back to her usual self. Cannonball flew over to them, landing right next to their leader. Iceman put his hand on his wound for a second, leaving behind a thin layer of ice.

“Spectre, Sunspot, Berzerker, Magma, try to hit her with everything you’ve got, we have to take her out. Cannonball, sit this one out, I don’t want you to get to close to her. If everything goes to shit, get us out of here.”

Cannonball nodded begrudgingly while the rest of them took their positions. Iceman counted down quietly before they emerged, putting everything they had into their hits. Rogue initially stumbled back, before putting her shield back, the combined powers flying back to them. Cannonball used his powers to push them, all of the present New Mutants landing in a pile good thirty feet away. She felt her carefully crafted mask crack, Spectre slowly slipping away, leaving behind a shivering Violette.

Wolvie yelled at them to step back, all except for Iceman who was supposed to get him to Rogue. Sunspot helped her get back up and they ran for cover, Violette feeling as if her whole body was about to fall apart. She crashed down onto the asphalt as soon as they were a safe distance away. She rolled onto her back, feeling her heart quicken drastically and her lungs scream for air.

‘ _Why am I so scared?’_

Her head lolled to the side and she could see Logan crouching down next to Rogue. If it wasn’t for the fact that the only thing her ears picked up at the moment was her own heartbeat, she’d probably be able to hear her cries.

‘ _She’s probably more scared than I am.’_

Violette closed her eyes, suddenly appreciating her heartbeat drowning every other noise around her.

* * *

 

Spectre took a deep breath and opened her eyes. She rolled her wrists, wincing at the cracking that resounded across the whole Danger Room.

She focused on the energy running through the tips of her fingers, building it up. With another deep breath, she slowly focused on letting the energy climb up her fingers. She watched as they turned into pure energy, her hands slowly joining in. She experimentally clasped her hands into fists.

“Violette?”

The energy quickly went back to her fingertips and out, hitting her palms. Violette swore, feeling her flesh burn.

“Shit” Bobby jogged over to her and took her hands, turning them so that he could look closely at her palms. “I’m sorry” He brought her hands up to his face and took a deep breath, blowing cool air onto her palms and frosting over the burns.

“Just don’t do that again” She sighed, her hands falling to her sides. “Anyway, what are you doing here?”

“I come here to blow off some steam” He rolled his shoulders back and twisted his head around, before turning his body into ice. He sent a small piece of ice towards the control panel, hitting one of the buttons. A small obstacle course appeared, along with a bunch of dummies. He let out a low grunt, making a huge icicle and throwing it at one of them, the ice lodging into its chest. “Wanna join?”

She could see something akin to rage pour out of him. She was pretty sure he needed someone to talk to more than something to fight, but she wasn’t that good at talking, especially since she hardly knew him.

“No, thanks for asking though” She sighed before turning around and walking out, leaving the low, animal sounds he made far behind.

‘ _I better ask Mr. McCoy to check these out’_ She looked down at her palms. _‘It’s not like I have anything better to do.’_

Once she got to the ground floor and was about to run up the stairs to find the teacher, Boom Boom appeared out of nowhere, tugging her towards the exit.

“Tabitha? What are you doing here?” She tried to get out of the girl’s grip. “And where are you taking me.”

“Baseball pitch” She dragged her towards the rest of the students and finally let go. “Where’s Bobby?”

“In the Danger Room” She said automatically, still a bit confused. “Wait, you didn’t answer my-”

Tabitha ran back to the house, Violette letting out a resigned sigh. Kurt walked over to her and was about to grab her hand when she quickly moved it away from him. He frowned.

“Something’s wrong?”

“No, no” She shook her head, chuckling nervously. “I just burned myself.”

He delicately took her hands in his and turned them over, wincing.

“How?” He looked over the burns, his frown deepening. “Wait, were you messing with your powers?”

“How did you-”

“I’ve seen those on Pietro” Kurt looked straight into her eyes. “You’re trying to turn yourself into raw energy.”

“So what?” She snatched her hands from him, not liking his tone at all. “It’s part of my powers.”

“Everyone around you could get hurt.”

“That’s why I’m practicing it on my own.”

“And look how good that’s turned out” He shook his head, looking over her shoulder. “Mr. McCoy!”

“I hate you.”

“What’s going on?” The man walked over to them, a warm smile present on his face.

“Could you please look over Violette’s burns?” Kurt gave him a charming smile. Violette felt anger slowly seep into her veins. She could ask the man herself, she didn’t need Kurt to give her stern talks and do stuff for her.

“Of course.”

She didn’t even look at Kurt as she was escorted back inside, not wanting to suddenly bite his head off.

* * *

 

Amara felt her phone vibrate and immediately smiled, knowing exactly who it was. She picked up the call, saying a breathy ‘hello’, completely ignoring the ongoing game of baseball.

“Hope ye’re not in the middle of something, sheila.”

“Nah” She flicked the ball halfheartedly and Ray easily hit it, causing Bobby to yell at her. “What’s up?”

“Who are you even talking to?” Shouted Roberto, touching Ray with the ball before he could reach the base. “Seriously? That’s all you’ve got, Crispy?”

“Ye know, I might be away for a while and I think that once I get back we could maybe get some coffee or something.”

“That would be lovely” Ray threw himself at Roberto, knocking the boy over. They rolled around the pitch until Jean rose them both above the ground, effectively stopping the fight. Bobby started to walk over to her, ready to take her phone. “You know what, I’ll talk to you later” She hung up and giggled, putting her cell back into her pocket.

“You, off” He sighed, delicately showing her towards the stands. “Sam, you’re in.”

“Sweet!” Amara gave Sam a thumbs up, before sitting down next to Jamie.

“So, when are you going to tell us about your boyfriend?” The boy looked up from his comic book, smirking.

She felt her cheeks color.

“You little snoop” She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “I hate you all. And he’s not my boyfriend.”

* * *

 

“Are you sure it’s a good idea?”

“Oh come on, liebchen, she loves Mexican food!”

“Yeah, but no one eats anything made by Kitty. I mean, you of all people should know exactly why!” Violette sighed, tightening her grip on Kurt’s arm. Both her burns and her pride still hurt, but she decided to forget about that for a while. After all, Kurt already had one moody teenage girl that he needed to deal with. “Besides, are you sure she won’t flip if she sees me?”

“Why would she?” He gave her a blinding smile. She hated that he felt the need to wear his watch when he was giving dinner to his so-called sister. “You’re my girlfriend.”

“Yeah, but-” Kurt ported them to Rogue’s room before she could finish her sentence.

“Kurt!” Rogue was clearly pissed. “Ugh, where’s Logan?”

“He and Storm are tracking down our loving mother, while the others are in London, so Kitty and I are you caregivers” He sat down next to her bed, showing her the tray of food in his hands. “Spicy enchiladas and black beans covered in Kitty’s special sauce!”

“If you wanted to kill me, you could have just choked me with a pillow or something” She rolled onto her back, before eyeing Violette. “And what are you doing here?”

“Since we’re siblings, I’ve decided that you should get to know my significant other” He put some of the beans on a spoon. “Come on, open up!”

“Go away” She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Is that any way to treat your little brother?” Kurt ignored her protests, still smiling.

“We’re not siblings.”

“Not with that attitude” He sighed, putting down the Enchiladas. “What about anchovies and jalapeno pizza?”

Before they could tell him that it was an awful idea, he was already gone in a puff of smoke.

“He’s a menace” Rogue coughed, waving her arm in front of her face. “A smelly menace.”

“He’s just worried” Violette took his place, her hands in her lap. She herself found that annoying, but it was still great to have someone who cared about her that much. Besides, she was the only one who could complain about Kurt, he was her boyfriend and she wouldn’t allow anyone to bad-mouth him. “He always wanted to have a sibling.”

“Good to know I’m fulfilling his life-long dreams” She scoffed, pushing her hair back.

Violette sighed.

“Rogue, I know we never really got along very well” She pushed the tray as far away from her as she could. She could swear one of the Enchiladas moved. “But believe me, he cares about you. You can count on him.”

Rogue looked down at her hands, before opening her mouth to say something.

Kurt appeared at the foot of her bed, another tray in his hands.

“Here you go, Schwester” He put it on her knees, before taking Violette’s hand. She bit her cheek not to audibly wince. “And if you need anything, anything at all, just know that I’ll always be there for you.”

He ported them out, but not before they could notice a small smile make its way onto her face.


	24. III: I Need A Holiday

“’Let’s go on a vacation’, they said” Amara groaned, tugging her luggage, growling when it didn’t even budge. “’It will be fun’, they said.”

She was all for exotic holidays, especially since the States made her terribly homesick. They were too cold and not nearly green enough to be reminiscent of Nova Roma, and even though the ocean wasn’t really her best friend, the trip seemed like a great idea.

Until Miss Munroe planned it so that her date with John had to be postponed.

Well, it wasn’t really a date – over the phone, he was awfully clear about the New York State law and what he thought about their age gap and how he didn’t want to be that creepy guy that hung around high schools all the way through his twenties. Instead, he offered her a friendship of sorts.

A very frustrating, relationship-y friendship. Although he didn’t even touch her since the night they met, he always managed to make her shiver in want. He was nice, intelligent and a romantic at heart, bringing her flowers, acting like a perfect gentleman and surprising her with the depth of their conversations.

He was also incredibly hot, both figuratively and literally. And damn, if she had to wait for two years for him to even consider being with her, she was ready to do that.

* * *

 

Violette sat down on her bed, sighing. Kitty, her roommate for the cruise, ran off with Kurt. Kurt who, Violette wanted to remind her, was _Violette’s_ boyfriend and the only one he should be running off with during a tropical cruise was supposed to be her.

But she didn’t because she didn’t want to come off as a controlling bitch who couldn’t handle her boyfriend being best friends with a girl.

Cute, tiny, pretty girl he used to have a crush on.

She shook her head, sighing. She kind of missed her own friend. Ray had to stay at the Institute because he was failing physics and except for him, she didn’t really have any friends that didn’t make her feel like a third wheel.

Tabby barged into her room without knocking, pulling a slightly green Amara behind her.

“Come on, ghostie!” She grabbed her arm and pulled her up, chuckling. “There’s a party going on and I love me some limbo!”

Violette let the blonde drag her around the deck, smiling slightly.

‘ _Okay’_ She thought. _‘Maybe I do have other friends than just Ray.’_

After few rounds of limbo, all of which were won by Boom Boom, Violette let Tabby drag her to the nose of the ship to watch Bobby mess around with his powers.

“It’s not a good idea” She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, but her smile stayed on. She could admit that it was fairly amusing.

“Yeah, but it’s still fun” Bobby made a humongous statue of Abraham Lincoln and saluted to the late president.

Amara sat down and put her head between her knees, groaning quietly.

“You okay?” Violette crouched down next to her, putting her hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“Yeah.”

“What do you think, Amara?” Bobby presented a huge statue of a woman in a winning pose.

“Hm?”

“Bobby just needs someone to stroke his ego” She tried to make Amara smile but failed miserably.

“Do one more, Bobby!” Tabby seemed not to notice Amara’s state.

“Okay, name that movie” He stepped onto the ledge, making a huge iceberg. Violette shot up, feeling that this was probably the worst idea they’ve ever had. “I’m a king of the-”

“Bobby!”

He tripped and Violette flew at top speed towards him, grabbing his arm. She strained her muscles and slowly pulled him up, thankful for all the training sessions Wolverine forced her to go through. She set Bobby down and collapsed next to him, groaning. Scott blasted the iceberg before the ship could crash into it.

Violette closed her eyes, getting ready for Scott to grill their asses.

She really missed Ray and his voice of reason when it came to shit like that.

* * *

 

The next morning she was woken up by Kitty accidentally phasing through her bed and onto Violette’s body.

“Ouch” Violette unceremoniously pushed her off. It wasn’t even that Kitty was squishing her with her non-existent weight, she just happened to be jamming her bony elbow into Violette’s boobs and that wasn’t okay at all. “Sorry.”

“Like, good morning to you too” Kitty blew her hair out of her face, stretching. “Oh shoot, breakfast starts in ten.”

“So?” She stood up and pulled her suitcase from under the bed.

“So, Jean and Scott will surely be the first ones there and Kurt and I plan on spying on them.”

The tips of Violette’s fingers burned holes in the underwear she was holding.

“How… Cool.”

“Anyway, I’m out” Kitty pulled her fresh clothes on before phasing her pajamas off. “See ya.”

“Yeah, sure” She said through her teeth, fuming.

Okay, maybe she was a controlling bitch who couldn’t handle her boyfriend being best friends with a cute, tiny, pretty girl. Or maybe it was just the fact that since they walked onto the ship, he didn’t make any effort to talk to her, instead focusing on Kitty. And it wasn’t like they didn’t talk to each other back in Bayville, so Violette didn’t really get that at all.

She decided to leave it for now, instead of trying to figure out what she should put on. She opted for something Tabby shoved into her suitcase with a smile, deciding that if Kurt didn’t want to talk to her, then fine. She might just make him.

The dress Boom Boom gave her was shorter than anything she ever wore before and he was bound to notice.

She bumped into Jamie on her way to breakfast and he got that funny look on his face when he wasn’t entirely sure whether he should say something or just ignore the issue. He chose to ignore it and Violette appreciated that.

When she sat down next to Bobby, however, he voiced his opinion on the change in her wardrobe.

“Damn, Violette!” She shivered, the want of attention from Kurt suddenly disappearing. “You look extra fine, girl!”

He winked at her, expecting her to pat him on the back for his spot on Tabitha impression. Instead, Jamie, who took a seat opposite of Bobby’s, kicked him under the table.

“I hate you” She bit into her bacon, trying to ignore the people staring at them.

Bobby was about to say something, a smug smile back on his face when one of the tables burst into flames. A fish tank filled with lobsters flew over to extinguish it, suddenly tipping enough for the lobsters to get out.

“Shit” Bobby groaned. “There goes our vacation.”

Everything turned into a mess. Someone bumped into Jamie so that he split into four, Kurt’s image inducer went crazy when one of the lobsters grabbed onto it and Violette seriously considered just turning invisible to escape all the fear-filled stares people were giving them.

* * *

 

After Ororo yelled at them all - _‘Jean, next time don’t use an_ entire fish tank, _there are fire extinguishers for God’s sake!’_ – Violette decided to disappear for a while.

She walked around the deck suddenly missing Bayville. At least back there she could hide in the forest when she needed to think and staying invisible for the whole cruise would be exhausting.

Her whole life was turning into a mess. First, she lost her friends. Her boys, her family. Of course she needed to get out, but it still didn’t change the fact that it hurt. Then, her dignity and the last ounces of respect the society had for her. Now she wasn’t just feared like before, she was hated for being born the way she was. People were ready to hurt her. And now her boyfriend completely ignored her, leaving her completely alone with her issues.

The captain announced that due to weather difficulties their arrival at the Bahamas was going to be delayed, which meant that she was trapped for much, much longer.

“Fuck!” She yelled, kicking the nearest wall. She sucked in a breath, grabbing her toes. “Fucking flip-flops.”

She bounced around, colliding with the ledge and groaning in pain.

“If I could just get away from this fucking ship” She let go, sighing. She rested her elbows on the ledge, looking at the island they anchored next to.

Suddenly a pretty bad idea popped into her head. She looked over her shoulder at the empty deck, knowing exactly what was awaiting her on the ship once she bumped into anyone.

“Fuck this” She turned invisible and flew off at top speed, feeling better with each meter she passed.

The island was lovely and the locals were nice, something she wasn’t very used to. She sat down in a small café and ordered a lemonade, feeling the fresh air clean her head. She was about to take a sip when someone sat down right next to her, excitedly yelling her name.

“What are you doing here?” Kitty grabbed her lemonade and downed half of it.

“I’m trying to have a little free time, you know” Kurt appeared behind the girl, smiling. “Away from people. _Alone_.”

“Non-sense!” She grabbed Violette’s wrist and started to tug her away. “Come on, we’re going to the hot springs with the whole gang.”

“The whole gang?” She asked, drinking the rest of her lemonade and leaving a tip. They were nice to her, after all.

“Tabitha, Amara, Bobby” Kurt tried to wrap his arm around her waist but she pulled away. “Something wrong?”

“What are you all doing here?” They reached Tabby, who was fighting with Bobby about something while Amara just shook her head at the two.

“Oh, you’re here too!” Tabitha clapped her hands. “Excellent. Now, off we go!”

“We’re helping Amara get better” Kitty explained, adjusting her sunglasses. “And, like, what’s up with your new look?”

“Nothing” She got out of her hold, sighing. “You guys go ahead, I may just… Stay here.”

They all shrugged and went off, except for Kurt, of course.

“I said, you go ahead” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“What’s up with you?” He took a step closer, mimicking her pose.

“Nothing, you go have fun with _Kitty_ and stuff.”

“You’re jealous?”

“No, I’m not” Violette turned around and started to walk off, wanting to get lost in the crowd.

“You seem pretty jealous to me” He tried to keep up, sighing. “Kitty’s just my friend.”

“Oh, I know that” She took a sharp turn and walked into an empty alleyway, before turning to face him. “That’s why I told you to go ahead and have fun with her.”

“Than what is it about?”

“You, okay?” She threw her heads up into the air, groaning. “Here I am. Your girlfriend. The one you completely forgot about. I mean, seriously, if it wasn’t for the fact that I needed a break I’d still be on that ship and you’d be off with them all, having fun, not even thinking about me at all” Violette felt her fingers heat up with the built up energy. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want you to forget all your friends and spent time only with me, but for fuck’s sake, being completely left behind isn’t fun at all!” She shot the blue beams at the ground, before cracking her fingers. “If you want some time without me, sure, I understand, but don’t just ignore me!”

“Ignore you?” He chuckled. “You’ve been the one ignoring me for the last few weeks.”

“Well, maybe I have a good reason” She had to admit, he had her there.

“Oh yeah? Then _tell me_!”

Violette felt her mouth turn dry as her words got stuck in her throat. She couldn’t tell him. Not now, not ever.

Kurt sighed, running his hand through his hair.

“Just as I thought” His tone was filled with hurt and bitterness. “Everything’s okay until it’s convenient for you.”

He ported, leaving her behind with a cloud of sulfur-scented smoke.

‘ _I’m such a hypocrite.’_

She sat down in the alley, tears streaming down her face, feeling more alone than ever.

‘ _Here I was, bitchy as always_ ’ She brushed back her tears, staring at the spot previously occupied by her rightfully ticked-off boyfriend. _‘And now it’s even worse than it was before. Good job, Spectre. Always fucking up the good things in your life.’_

She was ready to fly off back to the ship and lock herself in her cabin when the earth beneath her started to shake.

* * *

 

Violette really wanted to get back on the ship but after being saved by her, the locals wanted her to show off her powers any chance she had. So she flew around with young kids holding onto her for dear life, made stuff invisible and shot cans with her blue energy. She was thankful for the fact that Roberto stayed behind on the ship since the boy’s ego was big enough without everyone cheering whenever he sneezed.

Actually, she envied Roberto, Sam, and Jamie, only because they were far away from Kurt and Tabitha who didn’t seem to understand that Violette maybe didn’t want to be near him today.

“Come on, a group shot!” Violette tried to force a smile on her face as she looked straight into the camera, trying to ignore the fur brushing against her arm. “Okay, now the couples.”

“The what?” She choked out as Tabby pushed her towards Kurt, both of them looking completely awkward next to Jean and Scott. Under Tabby’s watchful gaze Kurt rested his hand on her hip, keeping his arm loose to avoid touching her as much as he could.

‘ _Nice.’_

“Okay now move on, I want a photo with my girl over here” Boom Boom pushed them all aside and pulled over Amara, a huge smile on her face.

Kurt took his hand off of her, immediately porting towards Kitty. Violette shivered, wrapping her arms around herself and walking over to Bobby, who was chilling people’s drinks with his powers.

* * *

 

Amara looked down into the lava, feeling the heat tickle her skin. She never felt better, the flames surrounding her making her feel loved, at home. They clung to her, fueling her own powers. She took a deep breath and lunged forward, letting the lava envelop her, pull her in. She swam down to the core of the volcano, pulling all of the delicious heat in. The locals didn’t want it, didn’t appreciate it like Amara did, so why waste it?

She wanted to stay there forever, the volcano pulling her in with promises of warmth and comfort, but she had to think about her family, her friends, John. She left with one last longing look, crashing through the coagulated lava to land on the brim of the volcano.

* * *

 

They got back to the ship just after twilight, all of them exhausted and spent. Violette didn’t even bother to say goodnight to anyone before running off to her cabin. She changed into her pajamas and sat on her bed, thinking. When Kitty opened the door she didn’t even look up, choosing to only grunt in greeting.

“Hi.”

She froze, the voice not sounding like Kitty at all. Involuntarily her eyes traveled to her boyfriend, her mind racing.

“Umm.”

“Kitty kicked my ass for this whole ordeal” He sat down next to her, sighing.

“She’s nice like that” Violette choked out before she could stop herself. She didn’t really know why Kitty would be supporting her in this mess since Kurt was pretty much right.

“Yeah” He nodded, licking his lips. “I-I never gave you the chance to explain yourself” He chuckled. “Man, I never even really called you out for it before this. I suck at talking, I guess.”

“We both do” She scooted over until their arms were touching, glad that he didn’t scoot away. “I mean, I should have talked to you about this.”

He turned his head to look at her face, his eyes trying to lock onto hers. She turned away.

“So” He took a deep breath. “Why?”

She licked her lips before finally giving up and looking into his eyes. In the orangey light of the cabin’s lamps, his hologram looked unnaturally yellow.

“Can you…” She sighed. “You know, turn it off?”

He raised his eyebrow but complied. His dark blue, emotionless eyes turned yellow, finally matching the gentleness and warmth of his voice. She leaned in, leaving a short kiss on his lips.

‘ _You can do this’_ She cleared her throat. _‘At least try.’_

“I…” She shook her head. _‘Come on, you know how to speak English.’_ “I-I… _I love you_ ” She breathed out, her voice inaudible.

“What?” Kurt leaned back.

‘ _Okay, maybe let’s try something else.’_

“ _Je t’aime_ ” Said Violette, her voice getting back its usual strength. She chuckled, the words’ usual weight disappearing. They didn’t leave a bitter taste on her tongue. “Je t’aime, Kurt.”

His eyes widened while his shoulders sagged.

“That’s…” He shook his head. “Gott, you’re so… Ugh!” He took her head into his hands and kissed her, smiling. “Ich liebe dich, meine liebchen.”

“You’re not saying that just to say it back, right?” She sighed as they parted.

“Of course not” He brushed her hair back, his smile getting even bigger. “And that’s officially the worst reason for avoiding me.”

“As I said before” She brushed her hands over his chest, the fur tickling her palms. Kurt visibly shivered. “I’m very bad at talking.”

She leaned in, their lips locking as she tugged his shirt off of his arms. It landed on the lonely chair in her cabin and she took one of his hands and put it on her thigh. He pushed her down until her back hit the mattress, his hand brushing against the hem of her dress. She buried her hands in his hair pulling him even closer, her thigh brushing against his crotch.

Kurt turned rigid before jumping away, his cheeks a deep shade of purple.

“I’m so sorry” She was panting, her head spinning. “Fuck, I messed it up again, didn’t I?”

He cleared his throat, shaking his head.

“No, no… We both went a bit too far.”

Violette took his shirt and gave it back to him, feeling her own cheeks heat up.

“Still, I shouldn’t push you.”

“Violette-”

“We’ve already talked about this Kurt” She sat upright, adjusting her dress. ” _You_ set the pace. Right now, the only one whole feels uncomfortable is you and I’m not okay with you being uncomfortable” She sighed, tucking her legs underneath her. “Kurt, do you… Remember Boom Boom’s birthday?”

“Of course I do” He put on the shirt, still leaving it unbuttoned. “Thank God Professor seemed to forget about it.”

“Yeah, but do you remember what happened in the closet?”

“The closet-Oh” His cheeks turned even more purple if that was possible. “Yeah, of course, I do.”

“Since it’s been before we had this talk I’ve been wondering” She looked up from the hem of her dress, biting her lip. “Were you okay with that? Cause it’s been nagging me for so long.”

“I was very okay with that” He said, playing with the buttons of his shirt. “Just… It was before the whole Wanda thing. I guess I just stopped trusting you and then the Mansion blew up and it got even worse and now, although I know I should be perfectly fine with everything we did back then I just still have a hard time with it.”

“You don’t trust me?” Violette’s eyes widened.

“No, I do trust you, I just need more time to go back to being comfortable with… That much touching.”

“Okay then.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah” She shrugged, smiling warmly. “If you say that you trust me and you just need time, then I’ll give you time. As much as you need.”

‘ _If it’s true that you trust me, of course’_ She bit her cheek not to say that out loud. _‘Cause if it’s not, then we have a much bigger issue.’_


	25. III: Not Worth Her Weight In Stone

Violette spit out a bunch of grass, trying to lay low as Sam tried to get them out of the net, his body hitting her every once in a while.

Wolvie’s training sessions were a nightmare and she wasn’t okay with them at all. They usually ended with her being covered in bruises and not wanting to move at all for hours and this one didn’t seem like it was going to be an exception.

She saw a white blur on the horizon, moving towards them at a rapid speed.

“Bobby! Give us a hand, will you?” She yelled, feeling Sam’s legs hit her side.

“Just hang on for a second!”

“That bitch” She cursed, feeling her respect for their leader drop. She felt a smile tug on the corners of her lips when she saw Logan stop him and chew him out for leaving his team behind. “Sammy, could you, I don’t know, stop for a second?”

They were rescued by Beast not much later, Violette feeling her cheeks redden when he ripped the net apart with his hands.

“Okay guys, since Wolverine left you all with me, it’s time to shake things up a bit” Violette stood up, stretching. “Ray, Violette, the first one to finish the obstacle course gets to sit out the rest of the training.”

Violette completely forgot about the fact that Ray could kick her butt in anything sports related and grabbed his arm, tugging him towards the beginning of the course.

“I’m going to wreck you” She really wasn’t going to. “Get ready for the rest of the training, loser.”

She was also awful at trash-talking, but hey, you can’t be good at everything.

“We will see.”

To no-one’s surprise, Ray kicked her butt. She was doing pretty well up until the rope swing. She jumped, grabbing it and immediately slid down into the pit.

“Ouch.”

Ray helped her out and she tried to save the rest of her dignity, but to no avail, since even Jamie was able to beat that obstacle.

“I hate you guys” She groaned when she left the group to go straight to the bathroom. She always left a spare set of clothes on her shelf, something she learned was quite useful back when she was still in the Brotherhood.

“You’re just a sore loser” Roberto gave her a small wink and in response to that, she threw the ugly yellow glove at him.

It was painful to have to leave her suit in a drawer and instead put on the generic X-Men costume for every training and mission, but it was something she had to do as one of the New Mutants. She kind of wished that they’d upgrade her from a trainee to an actual X-Men, just so she could put her own costume back on. And that won’t ever happen if she still couldn’t beat a freaking rope swing.

Once she got out of the bathroom, Kurt ran straight into her, Kitty’s phone in his hand.

“You’re a teleporter” Violette laughed. “How come you just smack into people?”

He chuckled and kissed her nose, before running off.

“Kurt! Like, give it back!” Kitty ran through her body, making her feel a bit sick. “It’s just Lance for God’s sake! I’m going to strangle you!”

Violette shook her head and stood back up, dusting herself off. Last time Kitty talked to Lance must have been before Wanda joined them, so no wonder she was that pissed off. Once she got herself under control, she noticed the eerie silence surrounding her. It was impossible for a mansion full of teenagers to be that quiet. She strained her ears, hearing a light thud around the corner. She glued herself to the wall, slowly raising her body into the air, flattening herself along the ceiling. It reminded her of that one stealth mission Mystique sent her on, but she quickly got rid of the memory, focusing on the task at hand. She flew down the corridor and saw the bodies of Kurt, Jean, and Kitty laying on the floor with small devices attached to their foreheads. She gasped and a small girl jumped out of Jean’s room. She must have been around Jamie’s age and definitely around his height. The girl lunged at Violette who quickly dropped down, dogging her claws.

‘ _Wait a second, claws?!_ ’

Violette rolled back, throwing bolts of energy at the girl who dodged every single one of them with ease.

“Who are you?” She yelled, flying further away from her, seeing the two claws sink into the floor where her foot was only seconds before. “And _fyi_ , we don’t want any of your girl scout cookies!”

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say, as the girl quickly jumped over Violette and kicked her back, successfully tripping her. As soon as Violette’s hands collided with the floor, she pushed her body off, flying further down the corridor.

‘ _Okay, I’m seriously scared_ ’ Her hands were shaking and she felt cold sweat pour down her back. She felt something grab her leg and pull her down, her body hitting the floor. ‘ _Scratch that, I’m terrified._ ’

The girl trapped Violette underneath her own body and slapped her hand onto Violette’s forehead. Violette felt electricity ran through her whole body, combining with her own energy and bursting out, burning the girl’s thighs and turning Violette’s body into pure energy. The device exploded, shocking Violette back into her normal self and knocking her out.

* * *

 

Violette slowly opened her eyes. The sharp, focused light coming from the lamp straight above her added to the overbearing pain pulsing underneath her scalp. She rolled over to the side and emptied her stomach, before getting into a coughing fit. Someone ran over to her, brushing her hair back and giving her a glass of water. She downed it immediately, the cool liquid calming her throat and stomach.

“You scared us all very much, Violette” Jamie rubbed her back, the dark circles underneath his blue eyes making them appear lighter. “You don’t even know how hard it was to force Kurt to go back to his room to sleep.”

“How long was I out?” She rasped out, putting the glass down on her bedside table. The white walls of the infirmary did nothing to soften the light of that godforsaken lamp. Violette fought against the urge to close her eyes, knowing she’d probably not want to open them again.

“Three days” He rested his head against the mattress, yawning. “Let me just… Call for… Mr. McCoy and…” He reached blindly for the button on the bed frame and was soundly asleep as soon as he pressed it.

Violette brushed his fringe back, shivering when she saw how pale she’s gotten. She could clearly see the veins that ran underneath the skin of her hand. She focused on them, the light still making her dizzy.

She blinked a couple of times, sure that the light was making her see things, but it happened again. And again. Little blue streaks of light were swimming in her veins, so tiny you wouldn’t be able to see them unless you knew what to look for. Then she noticed that the buzz that she thought was gone after her power surge was back, but this time she didn’t feel it humming at the base of her neck. It hummed underneath her skin, delicate and almost unnoticeable. She shuffled away from Jamie’s sleeping form and reached for the buzz, sighing when she let it control her body.

She didn’t need to look down at herself to know that her body turned into pure, blue energy. She felt so alive, the power she normally kept locked inside free to roam not only her body but the whole room, cracking in the air. She quickly turned back to normal, not wanting to accidentally hurt Jamie, only to see that her power burned through the material of her clothes and the sheets she was laying on. She blushed, quickly reaching for the bathrobe hanging next to her bed.

‘ _I’ll need to work on that part_.’

* * *

 

The energy inside her looked a lot like electricity. It felt a lot like electricity too, so Violette asked the one person she knew was more than familiar with it for help.

“Okay, so, take a deep breath” Ray instructed her, his own eyes closed. Spectre wasn’t sure if it was so that his heart would slow down even more, or if he just didn’t want to look in case she fucked up. “And another one. You’re half-assing this, Violette, I can’t hear you breathe.”

Ray insisted that the key to controlling something as unruly as the electrostatic discharge – ‘ _I think that’s what it’s called, you know how bad at physics I am_ ’ – is being calm. So surely, it should work with her powers too.

“Okay, I understand, in out, in out, but let’s be real here” She snapped her fingers and sent a beam of her energy in between his shoes. “I know how to hit things. I want to know how not to hit things.”

“Easy” He rolled his eyes. “You should know by now that losing control over your powers is easy. So, instead of focusing on releasing your energy towards one spot, you should focus on the area you don’t want to hit, so that when you stop focusing on that one tiny spot, the energy has only one way out” Ray once again closed his eyes, sighing. “And since you need to focus on so many things, you need to stay calm. So, once again, take a deep breath.”

* * *

 

Violette gasped for air, sitting up. The material of her sheets was bundled up in her fists, with few burn marks around her fingers.

‘ _It was just a bad dream_ ’ She sighed, her head hitting her pillow. ‘ _Everything is alright, you wimp_.’

She rolled over, freezing when she saw the time on her alarm clock. She jumped out of her bed, entangling her legs in the sheets and pulling them off, her body hitting the ground with a loud thud. Kurt chose this exact moment to appear in her room, chuckling when he saw the state she was in.

“Good morning to you too, honey” She kicked the sheets off, huffing. “Tell me, what are you here for, again?”

“Just wanted to wake you up” He winked at her before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

“I hate him” Violette groaned, standing up and yawning. “I honestly hate him.”

She quickly got dressed, washed her teeth and grabbed her bag, choosing the fastest way out. She opened her window and flew out, the morning breeze effectively waking her up fully before she flew into the kitchen. She was immediately hit with a carton of orange juice.

“Auch” She massaged the sore spot on her head, picking the carton up. “Thanks a lot, Kitty.”

“Sorry” The tiny girl phased through her, making Violette shiver. She opened the juice, passing it to Roberto who was pouring the contents of another carton into glasses.

They rushed through breakfast and piled up into the cars, for once not fighting over the seats. Violette finally let herself relax once she was seated in the classroom.

‘ _The last day of junior year_ ’ She ignored the teacher, instead focusing on Kurt who was sitting next to her. ‘ _Damn, we’re getting old._ ’

* * *

 

“What do you mean ‘ _only experienced team members_ ’?” Violette took a step back, crossing her arms over her chest. “Is it life threatening or something? Cause if it’s not, I’ve been in this mutant war shit for far longer than you. And why is _Bobby_ going with you?”

“Honestly, I have no idea” Kurt sighed, resting his hands on her shoulders. “For now we’re heading for Egypt-”

“Egypt?” Her hands fell down to her sides. “Kurt, please.”

He bit his lip, trying to avoid any eye contact.

“It may be a bit more dangerous than usual.”

“Fuck” She wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him. “Please, just… Be careful, okay?”

“Of course” He ran his hand over her back, trying to calm her.

It didn’t work, of course. All of the New Mutants were taking advantage of the fact that the adults were gone and were wreaking havoc across the mansion, while she sat down in the hangar, staring silently at the opening since they flew off.

She was surprised to see Pietro among them, her stomach churning at the thought of him running off and doing something reckless as always. The same with Bobby. They really became kind of friends these past few months and the last thing she wanted was to lose their leader.

And there was Kurt of course. Her sweet Kurt, with his warm embraces, kind heart and whispered promises. With his stupid jokes, pranks that usually failed and wide smiles. She knew he always kept his head in the game, but it still didn’t stop her from worrying.

She must have fallen asleep at some point. She dreamt of the team being crushed by the Sphinx. She was woken up by the sound of Blackbird’s engines, her cheeks wet with silent tears.

First came out Colossus, helping Pyro to get to the infirmary. Gambit was next, his hands shoved under his armpits, shivering. He stopped in front of her, furrowing his brows.

“You were the silent one, right? Ginny or something.”

“Gina.”

“And now you’re Violette” He chuckled. “I knew you were lying about who you were back then.”

He followed his teammates, murmuring something about cats and snow storms. Pietro ran out and she felt herself smile, some of the weight raising off her shoulders.

Kurt walked out of the jet and she was immediately swept off her feet, his face buried in her neck. She felt droplets of water slide down her skin and wrapped her arms around him.

“What happened, honey” She whispered into his ear, her hands fisting the material of his costume. She could see Jean levitating something human-shaped out of the jet, Kitty, Rogue and Scott following behind her. Kurt ported them into his room and his silent crying turned into full out sobbing. “Kurt, please, you’re scaring me.”

“He turned her into stone” His voice was raspy as if he was crying for hours now.

“Who got turned into stone?” She started to pet his hair, feeling the sobs wreck his whole body.

“M-my mother.”

She tightened her grip, murmuring sweet nothings into his ear, her stomach dropping.

* * *

 

John groaned, every breath causing him more and more pain.

It was unfair. Out of all the people, he was the only one who got hurt in any way. Yeah, sure, all of them had bruises and what not, but other than that, they were all fine and dandy, while he couldn’t breathe properly.

“As I suspected” Beast sighed. “You have three broken ribs. I advise you to rest for the next six weeks and don’t put too much strain on yourself.”

“Can ye just stuff me with drugs, doc” He winced as he sat up, knowing Mags and the lot were probably getting impatient.

“Sure” He chuckled, turning towards a cabinet and handing him a bottle of painkillers. “They’re really powerful, so one a day should be enough. Really, don’t overdo them.”

“Whatever ye say” He immediately stuffed one into his mouth, swallowing it down.

“Oh, and you have a visitor.”

“Mags can really wait another two minutes while I get myself together.”

“It’s not Magneto” Beast sent him a knowing smile and walked out of the room.

The door opened a few seconds later and Amara walked in uncertainly.

“Hi” He said, his eyes widening.

‘ _What is she doing here?_ ’

“Hi” She adjusted her hair, looking down at the floor. “How are you feeling.”

“Like shite” John started to slowly stand up and in a second she was right next to him, helping him. “Thanks, sheila.”

“No problem” Amara’s cheeks colored a nice shade of red. He smiled, ignoring the pain. “I hope you’ll get well soon.”

Her chocolate brown eyes finally met his own, her mouth mirroring his wide smile.

“Don’t worry about me, love” He chuckled, squeezing her shoulder. “It takes much more than some huge-ass mechanical warriors to bring St. John Allerdyce down. Now tell me, have ye ever tried to melt this Ice-boy? Cause it sounds like fun.”


	26. Interlude IV: The Art Of Standing Still

Tabitha threw a powerful punch at a guy’s jaw, before grabbing her bag and slipping out of the car.

Hitchhiking was never something she enjoyed, but it became essential to her in the last few months. She had no car and no money whatsoever to spend on tickets with expenses such as food and housing weighing down her wallet. Sure, pickpocketing was an option, but she swore to her mother to at least try not to break any laws. Life was harder when you played by the rules, but she managed.

She knew she could come back, both to the X-Men and the Brotherhood. They’d welcome her with open arms, a place to stay, even warm food – well, maybe not when it came to the latter – but she wasn’t really feeling it. She tried to settle down again and again but somehow it wasn’t working out for her.

Or that’s what she’s been telling herself she was doing, cause in reality, she’d just show up at the mansion every few weeks or so, mess around and then suddenly disappear in the middle of the night. She just really didn’t want him to catch wind that she was back in town, cause she was done.

She was so done with his attitude, his smirks and not talking about anything. She was so done with having sex and then ignoring it completely just because. She was so done with Pietro and the way everything had to revolve around him. Of the way he couldn’t settle down, always running away from everything.

Of the way they were practically the same, none of them ever mastering the art of standing still.


	27. IV: My Cold Heart Has Been Dyed Blue

Violette raised her fist, about to knock on the door, but gave up with a sigh before her knuckles collided with the wood. Instead, she delicately rested her forehead on it, the whispers inside not shaping into any comprehensible words.

She always knew Kurt was roman catholic, but the fact that for the last few weeks he spent more time reading the bible and praying than for the whole time she knew him still came as a shock. She wanted to be supportive, but her faith or the lack of thereof was never something she was really concerned about. So she decided to still be there for him, but not try to get in between him and his God. She already had hard enough time with trying to console him after Mystique’s been turned into stone. She had to forget about what the woman did to her and the Brotherhood as a whole and just focus on the fact that she was somehow an important part of Kurt’s life.

She asked him about why he was so ready to forgive her, and he told her that anger and hate would bring him nothing and that everyone deserves another chance. Violette worried that her boyfriend might just throw being an X-Man away and become a priest someday. Not that she wouldn’t support him, but it kind of involved breaking up and she wasn’t for that at all.

Once she heard Kurt’s voice fade, she knocked and came in, not waiting for a reply. He was kneeling next to his bed, his face and arms pushed into the sheets. She sighed, walking over to him.

“Oh, sweetie” She ran her hand through his hair, sitting on the mattress. Violette delicately pulled his upper body up and placed it on her lap.

“They’re giving up” He mumbled into her thigh, his voice filled with sorrow. “ _And_ giving her to the Brotherhood” He turned his head so that he could look into her eyes. “They can’t give her away. She’s my _mother._ ”

“Maybe it’s for the best” She didn’t really think so, but she _had_ to say something. “You know how it’s been affecting Rouge.”

“I don’t get it” He pulled back, taking her hands into his. “She was her mother too.”

“Kurt, honey” Violette sighed, brushing his hair back. “I’m sorry to say that, but she majorly fucked Rogue over. She needs time.”

“I guess” He trailed his hands up her arms and finally rested them on her neck, his thumbs brushing her jaw. “I’m sorry for being such a downer.”

“Kurt, your mother… _Died_ ” She saw him shiver. “Believe me, I understand.”

He nodded, licking his lips and leaning in, placing a delicate kiss on her cheek.

“Thanks.”

“No problem” Violette gave him a reassuring smile and stood up. “I’m going outside. Care to join me.”

“I think I’ll just stay in for a bit longer” He let his hands fall down to his lap.

“Just remember to eat something, okay?” Violette leaned down and kissed his forehead. She found herself forcing food down his throat since he spent most of the meals in his room and even if he did get something to eat, he’d mostly stab it with a fork and then leave it. “I don’t want you to waste away here.”

“Sure.”

Once she stepped out of the door she let out a sigh of relief. He’s been getting progressively better, but she still couldn’t help but worry.

Violette walked out of the Institute just in time for Bobby to wave her over.

“Hey Violette, wanna play basketball?”

“Sure thing” She rolled her shoulders back, feeling energy crack inside her bones. She really needed to blow off some steam.

“Okay, so it’s me, you and Sam against Bobby and Jamie” Ray filled her in, slapping her on the back. “You know how to play, right?”

“Oh, please” She rolled her eyes, smirking. “This may be the only thing I’m better at than you.”

“Excluding physics.”

“I don’t know, I suck at physics.”

Jamie took the ball into his hands and quickly passed it to Bobby. Sam ran after him, blocking him from running back towards the hoop. Ray and Violette were blocking two Jamies, so he was essentially stuck on the three-pointer.

“Now watch the Iceman himself make an incredible shot!” He yelled, throwing the ball at the hoop.

It bounced off the ring and Ray put his arms up, catching it before his Jamie could comprehend what was happening. The boy had a foot over her brother and passed him without a problem. Violette ran around her Jamie, the court between her and Ray clear. He ignored it, instead choosing to run between Bobby and Jamie, which caused them to lose the ball when they both went for it. Violette bit her cheek, stopping herself from overreacting. Sam went after the Jamie who was in possession of the ball, but Jamie took advantage of his clumsiness and did enough decoys for Sam to trip over his own legs. He ran to the hoop and shot, scoring.

Ray took the ball and passed it to Sam, who got immediately surrounded by the other team. He passed the ball to her and she caught it, running to the three-pointer. She was about to run back when Bobby got in her way. Although he only had two inches on her, his shoulders were way wider than her and he effectively blocked her, making it impossible for her to ran past him. She wanted to pass, but both of her teammates were trying to run through a sea of Jamies – she was pretty sure it was against the rules – so she had no other option. She took a deep breath, lowered her stance and tightened her grip on the ball, before jumping and taking a shot.

The ball delicately hit the rectangle on the board and went in.

“Dammit!” Bobby’s shoulders dropped as her teammates started to cheer.

“Watch and learn, Icicle” Sam gave her a high five, before running back to cover Jamie.

* * *

 

Amara pulled her phone out, trying to swallow down her nervousness.

‘ **Still in Egypt. Found nothing. I’ll see you when I come back.** _’_

She closed her eyes, sighing. Although John sent her updates every day she worried more and more.

‘ _One day you can find something though’_ She put her phone back in her pocket, walking out of the Institute. _‘And what then?’_

A ball flew in front of her face, trapping her in front of the door.

‘ _Oh, I’m really not in the mood’_ She caught it, a frown appearing on her face.

* * *

 

After Roberto burned down both the hoop and the ball, Violette went into the kitchen to grab something to drink. The hot July sun drained every bit of energy out of her, leaving behind a pleasant feeling of tiredness. Using her powers usually got rid of most of her energy, but it as rather short-lived, making her unable to get tired for more than a few minutes and while it was cool at first, she missed the times when she was able to fall into a deep, sustained sleep. She just raised a bottle of water up to her mouth when Kurt appeared in front of her, grabbed her wrist and teleported away.

The shock made her jump, spilling most of the contents of the bottle onto herself.

“Fuck” She shivered, the cold water making her shirt stick uncomfortably to her skin.

“I’m so sorry” Kurt’s hand flew up to his hair, tugging it.

“It’s okay” She lied through her teeth, trying very hard not to wince. She looked at their surroundings, frowning. “Why are we at the Boarding House?”

Kurt opened his mouth to respond, but instead quickly ducked, tugging her along.

“Come on guys!” She could hear Wanda’s yells and shivered. “She could still be in there! I think we should take her to Agatha Harkness.”

“And what? Have her de-stoned?” Todd chuckled. “No way, pumpkin. It’s too much fun, yo.”

“Yeah” Freddy laughed. “Come on Toad, let’s mess with Lance a bit more.”

Kurt once again took a hold of her and ported them in. She slapped his chest.

“Have you lost your mind?” She whispered, her voice getting higher with every word. “Wanda will kill us if she catches us here!”

He ignored her, walking over to the statue. He raised his hand, afraid to touch her. Violette swallowed down her complains her eyes trailing down to the floor.

“You chose the wrong house, X-Men.”

She froze, fear gripping her throat. The only thing that Wanda did back when Violette was still with the Brotherhood was scaring the shit out of her. The sole fact that she could manipulate probability made Violette unable to sleep at night, the silliest of scenarios running through her mind, haunting her.

Violette clasped her hands into fists, trying to produce just an ounce of energy, cursing herself for playing with the guys.

“Wait” Kurt raised his hands in surrender, slowly walking over to the girl. Violette let herself slowly turn to face her, putting on a brave face. “She… She’s my mother.”

Wanda let her hand fall and slowly walked out, her eyes clouding over.

Violette let out a sigh of relief and walked over to Kurt.

“So, Agatha Harkness?” He whispered, grabbing her hand.

“She helped Wanda get her powers under control” She stared at the face of the woman who saved her from the streets. Who gave her food, clothes, a house. Who lied to get her trust. Who tried to kill her brother. Stared until her stomach churned and she felt as if she was about to vomit. “Let’s get out of here.”

He grabbed his mother’s arm and took them back to his room.

* * *

 

Sam opened Kitty’s laptop, thankful for the fact that she had no problem with letting him use it. He’ll have to get her the new Red Hot Chili Peppers’ album. _By The Way_ or something.

He logged onto his e-mail account, smiling when he saw a message from Rahne. They were keeping in touch regularly and although it wasn’t exactly what he expected after their kiss, he was still happy to have her in his life in any form. They talked about everything – their families, their dreams, their fears and most importantly, feelings. It was so comforting to have someone to talk about his confusion. Since the day his powers manifested he felt so uneasy in his own skin, but Rahne helped him with that. Rahne always impressed him with her confidence and positivity, she’d always speak up and not be afraid of what other’s would think, something that Sam was unable to do.

He opened it, ready to read about her week so far, only to get assaulted by an all-caps screaming fest.

‘ **I JUST LEARNED FROM JUBILEE THAT YOU LOT WENT OFF TO FIGHT AN INCREDIBLY POWERFUL MUTANT! HOW DARE YOU NOT TELL ME YOU’RE ALL ENDANGERED! SAMUEL, I’M SO PISSED RIGHT NOW!** _’_

He closed his eyes, not wanting to read the rest. She used his full name, which meant he was in so much trouble.

‘ _Damn you Bobby for telling Jubilee about it.’_

Sam sighed, opening his eyes and immediately opening a new message.

‘ **I’m SO sorry, please Rahne, don’t be upset, I just didn’t want you to worry.** _’_

He hit send, before resting his elbows on the table and burying his face in his hands.

‘ _I’m so fucked.’_

* * *

 

“Kurt.”

He’s been staring at the stone for far too long now, his face completely blank.

“Honey” Violette slowly made her way in between him and his mother, sighing. “Maybe… I should just leave you alone for a while. Alright?”

He didn’t answer her and she nodded, before making her way out of the room. She promised herself she’d be back, but she couldn’t stand to be in the same room as Mystique, even in this form. She passed Rogue, avoiding any eye contact. She was about to turn the corner when she heard the door slamming against a wall.

‘ _Shit._ ’

Violette ran back, cursing herself for not staying in Kurt’s bedroom longer. She slammed into Rogue, grabbing her arm tightly.

“Let go, or I’ll be the one touching _you_ ” She wasn’t scared of her anymore, not when she had Kurt on her mind.

“Stop it” She hissed at the goth. “Mystique hurt many, _many_ people, the three of us included and believe me, I can’t stand to look at her either” Violette was suddenly aware of the way her nails were biting into Rogue’s skin and loosened her grip. “She was vile, manipulative and pitiable. But he somehow loved her anyway and he’s hurting so much right now and believe me, you’re not helping at all.”

She let go, darting back into the room to do any damage control she could still manage.

* * *

 

Amara stared at the TV screen, clasping her phone in her hands. She knew that was what they’ve been looking for all that time. Finally, they found something.

Her eyes wandered across the screen, looking for any sign that they were actually going to attack it. Just a glint of metal and she’d at least know it wasn’t already too late.

She felt her phone vibrate as their own team touched down in the Blackbird and looked down at it, freezing when she saw the caller id.

‘ _Come on, Amara_ ’ She urged herself, trying to swallow down the fear. ‘ _He’s gonna be fine. He’s not_ that _insane._ ’

But what if he really was, what if he couldn’t wait to fight the guy again, to prove himself or just to have fun with an incredibly powerful foe.

‘ _Only one way to find out_.’

She unlocked her phone and opened the message, her skin paling.

‘ **Mags left us in Egypt, he’s going alone.** ’

She let go of her phone, the weight of the whole world leaving her shoulders.

* * *

 

Kurt ran off.

Of course, he did. She was sure she’d be the same if it was her mother. But Darlene has been dead for a year now and Violette didn’t ever really let herself mourn her own mother. Maybe it will finally hit her someday, making her collapse under the stress and loneliness. After all, her mother was the last part of the old life she had. Sure, there was Jamie, but he didn’t ever remind her of her father, being the splitting image of their mother but with darker coloring.

Violette shook her head, knowing she couldn’t let herself fall down this spiral _now. Now_ , Kurt needed her to be strong. Or maybe he didn’t need her at all and she’s been just making the whole situation worse for all of them. She really didn’t know, which made her hide her face in her hands, groaning.

‘ _Don’t worry, he’ll eventually be back_ ’ She tried to reassure herself. ‘ _Back with his jokes and wide smiles, back to being the goofball you’ve come to love, somehow._ ’

She really hoped so. She didn’t have much in her life and Kurt was one of those good things she couldn’t really bear to lose, not now, not ever. The threat of a global catastrophe wasn’t really helping her with calming her nerves, either.

‘ _At least I have a pretty good idea of where the Apocalypse is_ ’ She scoffed. ‘ _At least he won’t take me by surprise, unlike Kurt._ ’

As if he heard her, Kurt suddenly appeared in her room, throwing himself at her. She landed on her bed, her body pinned down by his weight. It wasn’t the least bit sexual, at least that’s what Kurt’s sobs indicated to her.

“She pushed her” He said it over and over again. “And I could only stare. She pushed her. _Gott,_ Violette, she’s really dead now and Rogue killed her.”

She didn’t have the heart to tell him Rogue probably just saved him a lot of time. She knew he believed Mystique was still alive deep down inside, but for her, she was just a stone. A rocky reminder of the woman she hated. And although Kurt would never give up hope, everyone else did, Violette included.

* * *

 

Lance sighed, trying to ignore the thuds comin from upstairs. Wanda’s been wrecking her room since they all watched the news. Pietro, on the other hand, ran off god knows where and it didn’t seem like he was going to come back anytime soon. He guessed it was something people did when their father was murdered by a powerful evil mutant. He didn’t even really remember his own parents, the only thing that would come up whenever he thought of them was his own bitterness.

He walked up to the door, yelling at whoever it was to stop hammering into them. Once he opened them, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped to the floor.

“’Sup, mate” Pyro marched into the house as if he already lived there, a duffel bag on his shoulder. “I’ll be crashing here for a while, ‘right?”

Lance was about to say that it wasn’t alright at all, but he already climbed up the stairs to find a vacant room. He sighed, defeated, and went back to the living room, not feeling up for a fight now of all times.


	28. IV: My Cold Heart Has Been Dyed Blue

Violette raised her fist, about to knock on the door, but gave up with a sigh before her knuckles collided with the wood. Instead, she delicately rested her forehead on it, the whispers inside not shaping into any comprehensible words.

She always knew Kurt was roman catholic, but the fact that for the last few weeks he spent more time reading the bible and praying than for the whole time she knew him still came as a shock. She wanted to be supportive, but her faith or the lack of thereof was never something she was really concerned about. So she decided to still be there for him, but not try to get in between him and his God. She already had hard enough time with trying to console him after Mystique’s been turned into stone. She had to forget about what the woman did to her and the Brotherhood as a whole and just focus on the fact that she was somehow an important part of Kurt’s life.

She asked him about why he was so ready to forgive her, and he told her that anger and hate would bring him nothing and that everyone deserves another chance. Violette worried that her boyfriend might just throw being an X-Man away and become a priest someday. Not that she wouldn’t support him, but it kind of involved breaking up and she wasn’t for that at all.

Once she heard Kurt’s voice fade, she knocked and came in, not waiting for a reply. He was kneeling next to his bed, his face and arms pushed into the sheets. She sighed, walking over to him.

“Oh, sweetie” She ran her hand through his hair, sitting on the mattress. Violette delicately pulled his upper body up and placed it on her lap.

“They’re giving up” He mumbled into her thigh, his voice filled with sorrow. “ _And_ giving her to the Brotherhood” He turned his head so that he could look into her eyes. “They can’t give her away. She’s my _mother._ ”

“Maybe it’s for the best” She didn’t really think so, but she _had_ to say something. “You know how it’s been affecting Rouge.”

“I don’t get it” He pulled back, taking her hands into his. “She was her mother too.”

“Kurt, honey” Violette sighed, brushing his hair back. “I’m sorry to say that, but she majorly fucked Rogue over. She needs time.”

“I guess” He trailed his hands up her arms and finally rested them on her neck, his thumbs brushing her jaw. “I’m sorry for being such a downer.”

“Kurt, your mother… _Died_ ” She saw him shiver. “Believe me, I understand.”

He nodded, licking his lips and leaning in, placing a delicate kiss on her cheek.

“Thanks.”

“No problem” Violette gave him a reassuring smile and stood up. “I’m going outside. Care to join me.”

“I think I’ll just stay in for a bit longer” He let his hands fall down to his lap.

“Just remember to eat something, okay?” Violette leaned down and kissed his forehead. She found herself forcing food down his throat since he spent most of the meals in his room and even if he did get something to eat, he’d mostly stab it with a fork and then leave it. “I don’t want you to waste away here.”

“Sure.”

Once she stepped out of the door she let out a sigh of relief. He’s been getting progressively better, but she still couldn’t help but worry.

Violette walked out of the Institute just in time for Bobby to wave her over.

“Hey Violette, wanna play basketball?”

“Sure thing” She rolled her shoulders back, feeling energy crack inside her bones. She really needed to blow off some steam.

“Okay, so it’s me, you and Sam against Bobby and Jamie” Ray filled her in, slapping her on the back. “You know how to play, right?”

“Oh, please” She rolled her eyes, smirking. “This may be the only thing I’m better at than you.”

“Excluding physics.”

“I don’t know, I suck at physics.”

Jamie took the ball into his hands and quickly passed it to Bobby. Sam ran after him, blocking him from running back towards the hoop. Ray and Violette were blocking two Jamies, so he was essentially stuck on the three-pointer.

“Now watch the Iceman himself make an incredible shot!” He yelled, throwing the ball at the hoop.

It bounced off the ring and Ray put his arms up, catching it before his Jamie could comprehend what was happening. The boy had a foot over her brother and passed him without a problem. Violette ran around her Jamie, the court between her and Ray clear. He ignored it, instead choosing to run between Bobby and Jamie, which caused them to lose the ball when they both went for it. Violette bit her cheek, stopping herself from overreacting. Sam went after the Jamie who was in possession of the ball, but Jamie took advantage of his clumsiness and did enough decoys for Sam to trip over his own legs. He ran to the hoop and shot, scoring.

Ray took the ball and passed it to Sam, who got immediately surrounded by the other team. He passed the ball to her and she caught it, running to the three-pointer. She was about to run back when Bobby got in her way. Although he only had two inches on her, his shoulders were way wider than her and he effectively blocked her, making it impossible for her to ran past him. She wanted to pass, but both of her teammates were trying to run through a sea of Jamies – she was pretty sure it was against the rules – so she had no other option. She took a deep breath, lowered her stance and tightened her grip on the ball, before jumping and taking a shot.

The ball delicately hit the rectangle on the board and went in.

“Dammit!” Bobby’s shoulders dropped as her teammates started to cheer.

“Watch and learn, Icicle” Sam gave her a high five, before running back to cover Jamie.

* * *

 

Amara pulled her phone out, trying to swallow down her nervousness.

‘ **Still in Egypt. Found nothing. I’ll see you when I come back.** _’_

She closed her eyes, sighing. Although John sent her updates every day she worried more and more.

‘ _One day you can find something though’_ She put her phone back in her pocket, walking out of the Institute. _‘And what then?’_

A ball flew in front of her face, trapping her in front of the door.

‘ _Oh, I’m really not in the mood’_ She caught it, a frown appearing on her face.

* * *

 

After Roberto burned down both the hoop and the ball, Violette went into the kitchen to grab something to drink. The hot July sun drained every bit of energy out of her, leaving behind a pleasant feeling of tiredness. Using her powers usually got rid of most of her energy, but it as rather short-lived, making her unable to get tired for more than a few minutes and while it was cool at first, she missed the times when she was able to fall into a deep, sustained sleep. She just raised a bottle of water up to her mouth when Kurt appeared in front of her, grabbed her wrist and teleported away.

The shock made her jump, spilling most of the contents of the bottle onto herself.

“Fuck” She shivered, the cold water making her shirt stick uncomfortably to her skin.

“I’m so sorry” Kurt’s hand flew up to his hair, tugging it.

“It’s okay” She lied through her teeth, trying very hard not to wince. She looked at their surroundings, frowning. “Why are we at the Boarding House?”

Kurt opened his mouth to respond, but instead quickly ducked, tugging her along.

“Come on guys!” She could hear Wanda’s yells and shivered. “She could still be in there! I think we should take her to Agatha Harkness.”

“And what? Have her de-stoned?” Todd chuckled. “No way, pumpkin. It’s too much fun, yo.”

“Yeah” Freddy laughed. “Come on Toad, let’s mess with Lance a bit more.”

Kurt once again took a hold of her and ported them in. She slapped his chest.

“Have you lost your mind?” She whispered, her voice getting higher with every word. “Wanda will kill us if she catches us here!”

He ignored her, walking over to the statue. He raised his hand, afraid to touch her. Violette swallowed down her complains her eyes trailing down to the floor.

“You chose the wrong house, X-Men.”

She froze, fear gripping her throat. The only thing that Wanda did back when Violette was still with the Brotherhood was scaring the shit out of her. The sole fact that she could manipulate probability made Violette unable to sleep at night, the silliest of scenarios running through her mind, haunting her.

Violette clasped her hands into fists, trying to produce just an ounce of energy, cursing herself for playing with the guys.

“Wait” Kurt raised his hands in surrender, slowly walking over to the girl. Violette let herself slowly turn to face her, putting on a brave face. “She… She’s my mother.”

Wanda let her hand fall and slowly walked out, her eyes clouding over.

Violette let out a sigh of relief and walked over to Kurt.

“So, Agatha Harkness?” He whispered, grabbing her hand.

“She helped Wanda get her powers under control” She stared at the face of the woman who saved her from the streets. Who gave her food, clothes, a house. Who lied to get her trust. Who tried to kill her brother. Stared until her stomach churned and she felt as if she was about to vomit. “Let’s get out of here.”

He grabbed his mother’s arm and took them back to his room.

* * *

 

Sam opened Kitty’s laptop, thankful for the fact that she had no problem with letting him use it. He’ll have to get her the new Red Hot Chili Peppers’ album. _By The Way_ or something.

He logged onto his e-mail account, smiling when he saw a message from Rahne. They were keeping in touch regularly and although it wasn’t exactly what he expected after their kiss, he was still happy to have her in his life in any form. They talked about everything – their families, their dreams, their fears and most importantly, feelings. It was so comforting to have someone to talk about his confusion. Since the day his powers manifested he felt so uneasy in his own skin, but Rahne helped him with that. Rahne always impressed him with her confidence and positivity, she’d always speak up and not be afraid of what other’s would think, something that Sam was unable to do.

He opened it, ready to read about her week so far, only to get assaulted by an all-caps screaming fest.

‘ **I JUST LEARNED FROM JUBILEE THAT YOU LOT WENT OFF TO FIGHT AN INCREDIBLY POWERFUL MUTANT! HOW DARE YOU NOT TELL ME YOU’RE ALL ENDANGERED! SAMUEL, I’M SO PISSED RIGHT NOW!** _’_

He closed his eyes, not wanting to read the rest. She used his full name, which meant he was in so much trouble.

‘ _Damn you Bobby for telling Jubilee about it.’_

Sam sighed, opening his eyes and immediately opening a new message.

‘ **I’m SO sorry, please Rahne, don’t be upset, I just didn’t want you to worry.** _’_

He hit send, before resting his elbows on the table and burying his face in his hands.

‘ _I’m so fucked.’_

* * *

 

“Kurt.”

He’s been staring at the stone for far too long now, his face completely blank.

“Honey” Violette slowly made her way in between him and his mother, sighing. “Maybe… I should just leave you alone for a while. Alright?”

He didn’t answer her and she nodded, before making her way out of the room. She promised herself she’d be back, but she couldn’t stand to be in the same room as Mystique, even in this form. She passed Rogue, avoiding any eye contact. She was about to turn the corner when she heard the door slamming against a wall.

‘ _Shit._ ’

Violette ran back, cursing herself for not staying in Kurt’s bedroom longer. She slammed into Rogue, grabbing her arm tightly.

“Let go, or I’ll be the one touching _you_ ” She wasn’t scared of her anymore, not when she had Kurt on her mind.

“Stop it” She hissed at the goth. “Mystique hurt many, _many_ people, the three of us included and believe me, I can’t stand to look at her either” Violette was suddenly aware of the way her nails were biting into Rogue’s skin and loosened her grip. “She was vile, manipulative and pitiable. But he somehow loved her anyway and he’s hurting so much right now and believe me, you’re not helping at all.”

She let go, darting back into the room to do any damage control she could still manage.

* * *

 

Amara stared at the TV screen, clasping her phone in her hands. She knew that was what they’ve been looking for all that time. Finally, they found something.

Her eyes wandered across the screen, looking for any sign that they were actually going to attack it. Just a glint of metal and she’d at least know it wasn’t already too late.

She felt her phone vibrate as their own team touched down in the Blackbird and looked down at it, freezing when she saw the caller id.

‘ _Come on, Amara_ ’ She urged herself, trying to swallow down the fear. ‘ _He’s gonna be fine. He’s not_ that _insane._ ’

But what if he really was, what if he couldn’t wait to fight the guy again, to prove himself or just to have fun with an incredibly powerful foe.

‘ _Only one way to find out_.’

She unlocked her phone and opened the message, her skin paling.

‘ **Mags left us in Egypt, he’s going alone.** ’

She let go of her phone, the weight of the whole world leaving her shoulders.

* * *

 

Kurt ran off.

Of course, he did. She was sure she’d be the same if it was her mother. But Darlene has been dead for a year now and Violette didn’t ever really let herself mourn her own mother. Maybe it will finally hit her someday, making her collapse under the stress and loneliness. After all, her mother was the last part of the old life she had. Sure, there was Jamie, but he didn’t ever remind her of her father, being the splitting image of their mother but with darker coloring.

Violette shook her head, knowing she couldn’t let herself fall down this spiral _now. Now_ , Kurt needed her to be strong. Or maybe he didn’t need her at all and she’s been just making the whole situation worse for all of them. She really didn’t know, which made her hide her face in her hands, groaning.

‘ _Don’t worry, he’ll eventually be back_ ’ She tried to reassure herself. ‘ _Back with his jokes and wide smiles, back to being the goofball you’ve come to love, somehow._ ’

She really hoped so. She didn’t have much in her life and Kurt was one of those good things she couldn’t really bear to lose, not now, not ever. The threat of a global catastrophe wasn’t really helping her with calming her nerves, either.

‘ _At least I have a pretty good idea of where the Apocalypse is_ ’ She scoffed. ‘ _At least he won’t take me by surprise, unlike Kurt._ ’

As if he heard her, Kurt suddenly appeared in her room, throwing himself at her. She landed on her bed, her body pinned down by his weight. It wasn’t the least bit sexual, at least that’s what Kurt’s sobs indicated to her.

“She pushed her” He said it over and over again. “And I could only stare. She pushed her. _Gott,_ Violette, she’s really dead now and Rogue killed her.”

She didn’t have the heart to tell him Rogue probably just saved him a lot of time. She knew he believed Mystique was still alive deep down inside, but for her, she was just a stone. A rocky reminder of the woman she hated. And although Kurt would never give up hope, everyone else did, Violette included.

* * *

 

Lance sighed, trying to ignore the thuds comin from upstairs. Wanda’s been wrecking her room since they all watched the news. Pietro, on the other hand, ran off god knows where and it didn’t seem like he was going to come back anytime soon. He guessed it was something people did when their father was murdered by a powerful evil mutant. He didn’t even really remember his own parents, the only thing that would come up whenever he thought of them was his own bitterness.

He walked up to the door, yelling at whoever it was to stop hammering into them. Once he opened them, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped to the floor.

“’Sup, mate” Pyro marched into the house as if he already lived there, a duffel bag on his shoulder. “I’ll be crashing here for a while, ‘right?”

Lance was about to say that it wasn’t alright at all, but he already climbed up the stairs to find a vacant room. He sighed, defeated, and went back to the living room, not feeling up for a fight now of all times.


	29. IV: As If Being Bad Wasn't Bad Enough, Now We're Rich

None of the Brotherhood members were actually okay with Pyro moving in. He got on everyone’s nerves even more than Todd, additionally setting everything on fire one way or another. Although Pietro enjoyed the chaos for a while, it quickly lost its novelty and he was once again reminded of why exactly he was so fast to come back to the Brotherhood once he had the chance.

Pyro – or John, as he told them to address him – was currently chased by Wanda’s hexes, after he set the living room’s carpet on fire, burning down a few of her books. Lance was sitting in the slightly charred armchair, rubbing his temples to try and get rid of his massive headache. Todd and Fred were stomping on the scraps of material left on the floor, putting out any leftover flames. Thanks to Pietro’s quick thinking and the fire extinguisher in Lance’s jeep, the floor was left mostly untouched.

“I hate the guy” Lance groaned, his fists slapping against the armrests. “He’s been here for three days and he’s already ruined half the house.”

The statement was very true. The Boarding House was falling apart, even more so than before John’s arrival.

“We can always kick him out” Pietro shrugged, smirking as one of the hex bolts hit its target.

“He’s a total nutjob” Lance shook his head, hiding his face in his hands. “He’ll set the whole building on fire.”

“You might be right” He admitted, sighing as Pyro just laughed at the pain, jumping over the coffee table and running off to the kitchen.

* * *

 

Lance coughed, the dust scratching the back of his throat.

‘ _For fuck’s sake, if that’s how I go, Kitty would have a field day’_ He stumbled forward. _‘She’s always said how all this shit in my lungs will be the death of me’_ She might have meant cigarette smoke not dust, but now it wasn’t that important.

John was right behind him, laughing, but somehow Lance managed to convince him that lighting everything up won’t be a good idea. Pietro grabbed Wanda and ran off right away, Fred busted his way out and Todd hopped off, scared shitless.

He made sure no one was left behind in the cart, moving onto the next one.

‘ _Guys will kill me if I die saving humans’_ He grabbed John by the collar, pushing him to the front. _‘Or they’ll just die from laughing too hard.’_

“Please, can somebody help me?” Lance turned his head back. An old woman was sitting on the floor, a fallen wheelchair right next to her.

‘ _Of fucking course.’_

He ran up to her, raising her off the cart’s floor and carefully made his way out. He maneuvered around the debris and climbed the stairs, trying very hard not to shake up the lady too much.

‘ _Come on, come on’_ He could hear the explosions behind them, but on the other hand he was already halfway up the stairs. _‘Just give me few more seconds.’_

There were flames almost touching his back and he started to run, knowing that any further injuries he might cause the woman to have were better than dying in flames. John appeared next to him a second later, still laughing maniacally but keeping the fire back and clean air hit his lungs. He took a deep breath and started to cough. He set the woman down on the cot some doctors wheeled in and stepped back, putting his hands on his knees and spitting out all the dust leftover in his mouth.

‘ _I’m not dead yet’_ He closed his eyes, listening to the voices around him, all of them panicked but still vibrant and _there_. _‘Sorry to disappoint, Kit-Kat.’_

A microphone was shoved into his face not a second later, a blonde reporter asking him about his _act of pure heroism_.

‘ _Now that’s new.’_

* * *

 

Kurt was absolutely fuming when they came back and Violette was a bit pissed. Yeah, sure, it was a given that the X-Men hated the Brotherhood and vice versa, but this was ridiculous.

“They’re not the incarnation of all that is evil” She rolled her eyes, taking a bite out of her apple. “Well, Pietro sometimes is, but no one is perfect.”

“They’re plotting something” Kurt huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “How can you just eat a fruit as if nothing happened?”

“Baby, I was a part of that team, remember” She shrugged. “They’ll have their fifteen minutes of fame and then get bored or fuck up. That’s what always happens. Also, fruits make for great healthy snacks and I’m craving cigarettes. So shut up and let me forget about stress, okay?”

“Liebchen, you have a training session with Logan in thirty minutes.”

“You fucker, I’ll get fat thanks to you.”

* * *

 

Rogue sat in the fucking gazebo of all places, staring off at the water.

‘ _Kurt will get over it’_ She wrapped her arms around her legs, burying her face in her knees. ‘ _Who are you kidding, he hates you. He’ll never forgive you. He’ll just haunt you like Mystique.’_

“’N what are you doing here, _cherie_?”

Rogue’s heels pushed against the railing, her body falling backwards. She landed on her hands and pushed her body up and around to face him properly, fight stance and all.

“Wow, wow, no need to be scared of little ol’ Remy” He had a stupid smirk on his face and she hated it, now even more than before.

“What are you doing here, Gambit?” She couldn’t let her guard down in front of him, although there were tear tracks still visible on her face.

“Just sniffin’ around, trying to find something to do” He chuckled, sitting on the railing next to him, resting his back against a pillar. “This reminds me of home in some way. The smell of water in the air” He took a deep breath and shivered. “A bit too cold for my taste, but it will do.”

“Get out of here” Rogue felt the need to push him off, but couldn’t bring herself to do it.

“The salt is somehow familiar too. I’d spend summers down in Pilottown, running around wild beaches with my brother” He ignored her completely, staring at the bay. “Almost could fool myself that I’m back in South if I tried hard enough” His eyes finally landed on her. His red irises still fascinated her. She hid her shiver. “Cause that’s what you’re trying to do. Believe me, escaping from your problems never ends well” He started to play with a ring on his finger and she couldn’t help but think there was more to him than she could possibly know. ‘ _He’s not that much older than me’_ She went back to her previous spot, but this time it was her left side that was facing the water. ‘ _But he’s acting as if he’s seen it all.’_

“No” Rogue’s fingers tightened their grip on her kneecaps. “I’m not thinking about Mississippi when I come here” And how could she? Mississippi was warm, damp and most importantly _easy_. It had none of New York’s hectic and busy vibe, always something happening, never a single moment of calm and quiet. She didn’t want to think about it, anyway, because back then she could _touch_ and _feel_ other people’s skin and she missed it, missed the simple comfort it gave her, even though she never truly appreciated it. She’d give everything to get that back.

“But you are trying to escape” He smirked, his hair falling into his eyes thanks to the wind and ‘ _no, it’s a bad idea’_. “Remy’s not a fool.”

She didn’t answer, turning back to the bay, watching the waves crash against the stone. She didn’t even notice when he left, leaving behind a queen of hearts.

* * *

 

John wasn’t sure if Amara was serious when she told him to come over. Actually, even if she was, he still probably shouldn’t show up. But the thing about John was that he was a total idiot who had no sense of self-preservation. So, of course, he actually came.

He still didn’t feel discouraged when it was Wolverine who opened the door.

“What are you looking for here, bub?” Wolverine wasn’t the most welcoming person for sure since he chose that moment to raise his fist and show his adamantium claws.

“Not ye mate, that’s for sure” John sidestepped him and marched into the house, his grin faltering a little bit. _‘Dying before 25 is pretty sad, better stay away from him.’_ “Amara Aquilla, actually. She kind of invited me here.”

“I didn’t ask about whom you want to see” Wolverine grabbed his shoulder and turned him back around, growling. “What do you want with her?”

“She’s fun t’ hang out with, okay?” John furrowed his brows, putting his hand on Wolverine’s and taking it off. “Enjoys setting things on fire. And fire in general. We have a lot in common, actually. And either way, it’s really none of ye business, mate.”

“It is and I don’t like you hanging around her” Wolverine crossed his arms over his chest and John suddenly remembered just how fast the man could choke him. “If it were up to me, I wouldn’t let you anywhere near her. But since Hank somehow got the idea that you’re not that bad, Charlie let you in here” He took a step forward, his elbows almost brushing against John’s chest. ‘ _Wait, one of them thinks I’m alright?’_ “So better watch your step, bub.”

John wasn’t really sure how to respond, but thankfully he was rescued by an enthusiastic Amara. She practically skipped towards him, a huge grin on her face.

“Hi!” She threw her hands around his neck and gave him a quick hug. As she pulled away she grabbed his hand, tugging him towards the nearest doorway. “Come on, I have to introduce you to my team!” As soon as they were out of Wolverine’s field of vision, she leaned in, her grin forming into a concerned smile. “Was he really bad?”

“Nah, but still, I don’t know what those Canadians have against nice ol’ Aussies like me!” He chuckled. “First Sabertooth, now this guy. Damn, those Canadians are a racist bunch, I tell ye!”

It made her laugh and John felt kind of proud of himself for achieving something so simple. Her laugh was incredible, warming his insides and making him grin wider than he ever thought he could. ‘ _Stop it, she’s a kid.’_

“Maybe it’s just you” She winked, leading him towards a room with the most humongous TV he’s ever seen. “Guys, this is John.”

“You mean, a psychotic pyromaniac who used to work for Magneto” A guy with a weird orange fringe gave Amara a bright smile before a girl sitting next to him hit his shoulder.

“You’re dumb” She sighed, waving towards John. “I’m Violette and that prick to my left is called Ray.”

“You should at least _try_ to be nice to him” The youngest boy sighed, putting down his comic book and bouncing over, a welcoming smile on his face. “Hi, I’m Jamie.”

“Hi” John shook the boy’s hand, smiling back. He seemed nice for a kid his age. Immediately John was surrounded by teenage guys, all of them wary and frowning. “Something wrong?”

“What exactly do you want with our young Amara over here?” The tallest of the group delicately pushed the girl back, away from them.

“Nothing special really” John shrugged, his brows furrowing. “Just play around with fire.”

“Try not to get burned” The one John recognized as the ice one chuckled. “Otherwise, I might have to cool you down a bit.”

It was dreadful, but somehow his silent, blonde friend gave him a thumbs up.

“That won’t be needed, mate” John made his way out of the group, not up to dealing with toddlers. “I can take care of myself.”

He didn’t realize how that sounded until Violette started to choke on air, while Amara giggled. He felt his cheeks redden and grabbed Amara’s hand, pulling her out of the room.

* * *

 

Money got to Pietro’s head _very quickly_.

He didn’t really have much money after his father left him behind in New York. It wasn’t ever _very_ bad, but he sometimes got sick of worrying about money. So, naturally, he started to steal. First, it was to buy maybe a bigger dinner or some sweets, but then it turned into a hobby, giving him so much fun. How sneaky could he really be? Always finding new challenges, trying to keep boredom at bay.

But now, he knew that there was nothing that could stop him. Stealing got boring and it wasn’t like he needed it anymore.

For the first time in his life, money was _absolutely_ not a problem at all.

So, of course, he did something dumb.

Pietro sneaked off to New York to a fancy gay bar and snatched himself a hot, five foot seven guy and Pietro was stupid, so _stupid_ that he took the guy home.

Home, as in the Boarding House.

And okay, maybe the guys forgot about Pietro’s tendencies because he stopped bringing girls home since the whole Tabitha fiasco. So, when Pietro practically kicked down the front door, his hands in the guy’s hair and ‘ _what was his name, Harry?’_ his tongue in the guy’s mouth, Lance looked over the edge of his armchair to see what was going on.

And he screamed, falling over the armrest.

Pietro’s eyes opened wide. He took a step back from _‘Harry, right?_ ’ and glanced at the living room, where guys went over to inspect what was going on.

“Oh” _Harry_ nodded his head. “You’re not out, then? Fuck, third time this week” _Harry_ started to search through his pockets and gave him a piece of paper and _‘oh, his name’s Henry’_. “Call me when you’ve sorted this shit out.”

And just like that, Henry walked out, adjusting his clothes and calling a cab.

Pietro wished he could do the same.

“Who the fuck was that, yo?” Toad yelled, hopping over. “Out with what?”

“What’s with all the screaming?” Wanda walked down the stairs and _of course,_ she pieced the facts together faster than Todd. “Was the girl he brought home someone’s ex or something?”

“It was a guy” Lance mumbled out, his face on the carpet. At least Freddy looked more concerned with Lance’s health than Pietro’s sex life. ‘ _Thank God for Freddy.’_ “Pietro’s into dudes. Oh shit, he’s into dudes.”

“You didn’t know?” Wanda snorted, walking over to the kitchen.

“Wait, you _knew_?” It was Pietro’s turn to be completely confused.

“Of course I did” She shrugged, turning their new electrical kettle on. “As much as it pains me, I’m your twin sister. I know things like that.”

“Wait, Pietro’s _gay?_ ” Todd froze. “B-but, all the girls-”

“I’m not gay, you moron” Pietro growled.

“But the guy-”

“There’s this thing called bisexuality, Toad” Wanda sighed, her eyes glowing red. “You want to say something else, or?”

The front door swung open again and John walked in, wearing a huge grin.

“Ye wouldn’t believe it guys, there was some lost twink in a rave get up standing in our driveway, waiting for a cab” He chuckled, slapping Pietro on the back and stepping over Lance, walking over to the fridge. “I thought I wouldn’t see something like that until Pietro comes out.”

“He was kind of outed, actually” Wanda poured herself a cup of tea, stepping over Lance and making her way upstairs. “By himself, the idiot.”

“Wait, you knew too?” Lance finally stood up, his face showing nothing but pure shock. “And you didn’t say anything?”

“Why would I, mate?” John gave up on cooking and opened the freezer, taking out a frozen pizza. “Not my business. I mean, he’s not looking into my bed, right?” He stopped smiling for a second and glared at Pietro. “Right?”

“Why would I, _mate_?” Pietro smirked. “When you’re waiting for the small X-geek to be legal.”

“That’s a low blow” John laughed, opening the oven and shoving the pizza in. “If it wasn’t for the fact that I appreciate the snark, ye’d be in trouble.”

* * *

 

Violette put her face in her hands, watching as the Brotherhood once again miraculously appeared right on time to save the day.

“Oh God guys, you fucked this up already” She sighed, muting the news just so she wouldn’t hear Todd’s answer to the reporter’s question. “You fucked this up big time.”

“Language” Logan walked into the kitchen and opened one of the least used cabinets to get to his secret stash of beer. He took the TV remote and turned the sound up, opening the bottle and taking a sip. “Are they?”

“Yeah.”

“Idiots.”

“Exactly.”

“Anything else going on?”

“Still nothing new about the dome.”

He nodded, sitting down next to her.

“Just pretend you’ve never seen where I hide them” He smirked, confident that she’d obey.

‘ _And he’s perfectly right’_ Violette noted to herself to never ever open that cabinet no matter what.

“So, why aren’t you with the rest of the kids” He looked down at the bottle, reading over the daily intake charts.

“Kurt’s not really up for fun” She curled her legs towards her body, resting her chin on her knees. “Ray is out for the night. And Jamie’s doing his homework. I don’t really have much more good friends here, to be perfectly honest.”

“So instead of trying to change that you’re watching over your old teammates” Logan took another sip, his eyes focusing on her face. “Or you’re simply bullshitting me and you don’t want to socialize with them.”

“Language” She mocked him, standing up and walking over to the cookie jar to take out a handful of Ororo’s cookies. Logan raised his eyebrow, but instead of putting a few back, she just gave them to him. “Okay, maybe some of them are okay with me there. But none of the older students trust me in the slightest.”

“Well, too bad” He stuffed the cookie into his mouth, washing it down with beer. She bit her own cookie, before looking at it and taking out all of the nuts. “But hiding in the kitchen and still associating yourself with the Brotherhood won’t help them change their mind.”

“So I should just basically piss on the last two years of my life and hate these guys completely” She pointed to the screen, where a very sheepish Lance was giving autographs to a bunch of girls.

“Not exactly” He stood up, downing the rest of the beer and throwing the bottle away. “If you weren’t so glued to the screen you’d notice that one of them started to spend his every waking hour here. You don’t need to hate them, just stop using them as a way to alienate yourself.”

* * *

 

Lance watched the explosion they caused, feeling the heat even through Red’s shield.

‘ _Pyro would love this’_ He kneeled down, laying his hands flat on the ground. _‘Good thing he doesn’t hang around us much.’_

He channeled his whole energy into the earth, digging a massive hole in the epicenter of the explosion. He felt his elbows buckle as the earth shook harder and harder, the heat being buried underneath it. As soon as he was done he straightened his arms, letting himself breathe for a moment before he had to face her. He finally stood up, turning around to walk away, but there she was, disappointed and exhausted. She tried to phase one train through the other because they _had to_ milk their heroic fame dry.

‘ _I guess I never will be anything other than a hood’_ He started to walk, praying that he won’t collapse. He could already feel the headache starting.

“Don’t worry, there won’t be more heroics” He assured Summers, or was he assuring himself? Every time he tried to do something good it seemed to blow up in his face. “You can count on it.”

They should have stuck to pick-pocketing, at least they were good at that.

‘ _Don’t worry, Kitty’_ He passed her by, as Violette’s boyfriend held her upright. He felt another jab at his heart. ‘ _Or Violette. There will be no more disappointments.’_


	30. IV: Everyday I'm Still Confused

Violette never expected herself to even think that Logan’s training sessions were great, up until she was forced to attend Jean and Scott’s.

“What is this shite?” John looked over the notes Jean handed to them the previous day, chuckling. “I’ve had my powers for five years now and believe me, ‘the application of physics within the strategic use of mutant powers’ never even went through my mind.”

He was for some reason sitting with them in the room assigned for their theoretical sessions, but Violette wasn’t complaining. He was somehow entertaining in his own way.

“So how did bargaining with Logan go?” Amara leaned in towards Bobby and Ray.

“Terribly” Ray sighed, throwing a ball of paper towards the bin and missing. Roberto made his own ball and shot it straight into the bin, sticking his tongue out. “Don’t even say a word, sunshine. Anyway, Logan won’t even consider it.”

“This sucks” Bobby threw his hands up, sighing. “I want to blow shit up!”

“Shhh” Sam waved his hand in the general direction of Bobby, never taking his eyes off his comic book. “Jamie, shush him please.”

Jamie’s fists collided with each other, creating a dupe. He walked over to Bobby and clamped his mouth shut, smiling towards Sam.

“Thank you” The blonde turned the page of the comic.

“Why are you here, anyway?” Roberto turned towards John, raising his eyebrow. “You don’t even go here.”

“Entertainment” John shrugged, taking out his lighter and setting the notes on fire. “Now this is fun. Let’s light up some desks, aye?”

“No, that’s a bad idea” Violette snatched the lighter out of his fingers, stuffing it into her bra.

“If you think that that’s gonna stop me, you’re wrong” John chuckled. “I’ve had twelve female cousins, I’m not scared to touch boobs without any sexual intent.”

“Hey, that’s my sister” Jamie threw his pencil at John, hitting the back of his head. “Sod off, Allerdyce!”

“How does he even know my last name?” John turned to Amara, who just shrugged.

“I know everything!” Jamie proceeded to throw his rubber band at him, but Jean walked in and stopped it mid-way.

“Why is he here?” Scott walked in after her, pointing towards John.

“Entertainment” The New Mutants answered simultaneously, bright smiles on their faces.

Scott just sighed as Jean started her monologue about one thing or another. Ray rested his head on his arms and went to sleep, Roberto grabbed his bag and turned it inside out, stuffing his things back into it and zipping it back up, Bobby started to make a small ice theatre, silently announcing that he will be showing Legally Blonde his opening night, Amara and John talked about one thing or another, Sam still read his comic book, Jamie doodled in his notebook and Violette stared at her hand intensely, turning it into energy and back to normal.

“Guys, come on, this is important!” Scott banged his hands against Bobby’s desk, making the neck of Elle Woods snap and roll down onto the floor.

“Not cool, man” Bobby picked it up, his lip shaking. “I made it all by myself and you just ruined it, Scott.”

“How dare you” Violette went along with it, smirking. “You think that just because you’re older you can come in and break our things. That’s so rude of you.”

“Violette” Jean sighed, rubbing her temples. “You out of all of them should pay the most attention.”

‘ _Wait what?’_

“What makes you think that?” She narrowed her eyes, her mouth turning into a straight line. “From what I’ve heard, we’ve had our powers for roughly the same amount of time. Not like you can teach me something I don’t know about them.”

“Yes, but I’m just saying that the training I got at the Institute was far better than… Whatever you’ve gotten with the Brotherhood.”

“You’re saying you’re better than me?” Her chair scraped against the floor painfully and suddenly the whole room got quiet.

“Violette-”

“No, _Summers,_ I won’t sit back down” She huffed, staring at the redhead. “You think I just what, slacked my way through my life and never thought about training in my whole life?” Violette grabbed her notes and walked towards the door, before turning around. “I may have never had the opportunity to find a fancy private school, but after seven years, I know how to use my powers to their full potential” And just before she backed out of the room, Violette lifted her finger towards the papers and ostentatiously sent a beam of energy towards them, cutting them in half. “I’ll be back for the real training session.”

* * *

 

“No, I’m not going back in there.”

Kurt sighed, closing the door to her room behind himself. Violette was packing her backpack, stuffing it with excessive force.

“You’re going to tear it to shreds, liebchen” He walked up to her, delicately prying her fingers off of her Chemistry homework. She groaned, leaning back into his body. “I’m not saying that you weren’t right, you just…”

“Went a bit overboard” She rolled her eyes, turning around to face him. “I know.”

He brushed her cheek, leaning down to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

“I’ve missed that” She said as they parted and Kurt rested his forehead against hers.

“I’m sorry for the last two months” He kissed the tip of her nose before pulling away.

“You were grieving, everyone needs that” She was stomping on thin ice, but she always was awfully dumb. “Are you and Rogue…?”

“No” Kurt shook his head, is hands forming into fists. “She may have been just a statue for everyone, but I know Rogue felt the same way about her as I did. That’s why she couldn’t stand her here. And while I’d be just as crushed if Rogue didn’t think she was alive and pushed her off, I’d be more prone to forgiving her” He sat on Violette’s bed, his tail wrapping around his waist. “But for Rogue, our mother was still alive. She pushed a living person off a cliff.”

“That’s fucked up” Violette sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Exactly” He sighed, laying a kiss on her hair. “Try to forgive Jean. She means well, but she’s sometimes awkward with wording things.”

“Okay” He ported out of her room, no doubt to get ready for school himself. She breathed in the smoke surrounding her, feeling more relaxed than a few minutes ago. “I’ll try.”

* * *

 

When they came back from school, John was chilling in the kitchen, eating instant noodles out of Logan’s favorite mug. Amara immediately ran over to him and Violette had to stop herself from commenting. They already heard enough from everyone else and she wasn’t really one to rain on other people’s parades.

Instead, she followed the rest down to the makeshift classroom for another training session.

“I thought you swore off these sessions” Jamie nudged her with his elbow, smiling. “We’re gonna have fun this time.”

“What makes you say that” She sighed, ruffling his hair.

“Bobby’s leaving behind an ice statue. We’re gonna mess with them big time.”

* * *

 

“I heard you weren’t very cooperative during Scott and Jean’s session.”

Violette almost dropped the glass she was currently getting out of the cupboard. Once it was secure in her hand she grasped her chest and turned around, ready to throw it at him. His healing factor would make sure she didn’t injure him too much.

“You just seriously gave me a heart attack.”

“That doesn’t seem like what we agreed on, Casper” Logan sighed, walking over to his secret stash of beer. “You were supposed to try to make yourself trustworthy.”

“It’s hard when Red’s on my tail all of the time” She put her glass down and poured some orange juice into it. “Summers’ a tiny bit better, but that’s maybe only because he knows what it’s like to change sides for your family.”

“That’s harsh” Logan sat down at the kitchen table and she finally noticed his torn up clothing.

“What happened to you?” She sat in front of him, taking a sip.

“I just ran into some old colleagues” He shrugged. “Try not to piss everyone off too much, otherwise it will never work.”

“People want me to promise so many things nowadays” She put her glass down, sticking her hand out. Logan put his beer down and grabbed it. “Deal.”

* * *

 

“I hate life” Violette blew her nose into another tissue, before getting into a huge cough fit. “I hate it so much.”

Most importantly she hated Kurt for giving her this fucking flu. She understood that Kitty was his best friend and that his Christianity told him to take care of the weak and sick, but now thanks to that the three of them was practically dead to the world.

“Don’t be so overdramatic” Jamie patted her head and handed her a cup of tea, before kissing her cheek and running out. “I’ll see you after school!”

“Don’t you dare!” She was pretty sure that if he was going to keep visiting her, he’ll be the next one down with it. Violette threw the tissue at her garbage can but missed terribly, the balled up paper landing on her desk. “Fuck.”

A second later Kurt landed on her legs, shivering and fast asleep.

“Holy shit!” She was seriously going to have a heart attack someday. She was about to grab his shoulder and wake him up, but he sneezed and suddenly she was crushed under his weight.

“Okay, that’s not okay at all” She would be all for that if it wasn’t for the fact that they were both terribly sick and Kurt was unconscious. “Kurt, honey, wake up.”

It was as if he was deaf, no reaction at all. She tried to shake him once again, which resulted in nothing.

“It was hard enough to breathe without you squishing all of the air in my lungs” She sighed, her lids getting heavier and heavier. “Whatever, maybe I’ll just sleep until you disappear.”

The next thing she remembered was Kitty yelling something. Violette immediately sat up or rather tried to, since as soon as she raised her head it hit something. She blinked for a few seconds before it finally got to her.

“We’re under the bed” She stared at the wood above her eyes, sighing. “I hate you, Kurt.”

Kitty tried to slide Kurt off of Violette by tugging his tail. The boy just sneezed and the ground bellow Violette got suddenly really cold.

“We’re at school” Kitty’s eyes widened in fear. “No, no, no!”

Instantaneously Kurt sneezed once again, teleporting them all into a classroom full of people.

“Shit” Violette covered her face, glad that Kitty finally managed to get Kurt off her. She apologized to the teacher and helped Kitty drag Kurt out, shutting the doors behind them.

“I hate him so fucking much” Violette groaned. “Fuck, I need a cigarette.”

“Forget about it” Kitty was dragging Kurt to the exit by his tail. “We need to get-”

Kurt sneezed and the two of them disappeared, leaving Violette behind in the hall.

“Fuck!” She screamed, going over Ray’s schedule in her head and making her way towards the right class. “I will fucking kill Kurt.”

* * *

 

‘ _Thank God Ray was all for skipping Physics.’_

Violette sat in the passenger side of the X-Van, sneezing and coughing her lungs out.

“Smoker’s cough, huh?” Ray chuckled and for some reason stopped the car.

“What are you doing?” She started to rummage in the glove compartment, looking for tissues.

“Well, you better have a look for yourself” He motioned for her to look behind. She did and groaned, seeing Roberto, Sam, Amara, and Bobby running over and waving.

“Why can’t we just ignore them?”

“Cause Bobby will probably drag them over anyway” Ray unlocked the doors and the three of them packed themselves into the backseat. “Skipping class isn’t very nice, guys.”

“School isn’t that entertaining anyway” Bobby leaned in towards the front, smirking. “Violette, I thought you were sick.”

“I am” She triumphantly held up a pack of tissues before blowing her nose into one of them. “Kurt teleports anytime he sneezes and I ended up stranded in the hallway.”

“Seriously?” Roberto started to laugh. “Quite a field trip.”

“Yeah, Kitty’s still with him, God knows where” She opened the window and threw the tissue out, ignoring Sam’s cry of ‘Littering!’. “Hopefully they’ll get back in one piece.”

“So, where are we going?” Amara threw her backpack into the trunk, smiling widely.

“The institute” Ray smirked, winking at Violette as they heard the cries of outrage from everyone else in the car. “What, you’re the ones who didn’t bother to ask. Wait until Beast sees you all cutting school.”

* * *

 

Once Kurt and Kitty got back, she beat the crap out of him with a pillow. After hearing that Kitty did the exact same thing, she threatened his life for good thirty seconds before storming out.

She really wanted that cigarette.

* * *

 

“There’s another dome.”

Violette looked up from her homework to see Kurt quietly closing the door behind himself. She stood up, meeting him half-way and wrapping her arms around him. She didn’t even notice she was shaking until Kurt pressed her closer to him.

“I’m scared” She chuckled, although it wasn’t funny at all. “Oh God, Kurt, I’m so fucking scared.”

“Me too” It wasn’t meant to be comforting, but it eased her mind a bit. She wasn’t just freaking out. “I… I really hope it’s not really the end, you know?”

She squeezed him tighter, burying her face in his neck.

“How is it supposed to end?” She whispered into his fur, closing her eyes. “In the Bible?”

Kurt sighed, pulling away and brushing back her hair. He teleported them onto her bed, both of them resting against the headboard. He took her left hand and started to play with her fingers.

“It’s not very clear” He frowned, concentrating. “There are four horseman, as you may already know. A great earthquake, a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse all at the same time. Stars fall down onto the earth and the whole sky shrinks somehow. Mountains and islands move, people hide in caves. Then a massive destruction, tearing the whole Earth apart” He avoided looking into her eyes, but his tail wrapped itself around her calf, its tip drawing circles around her ankle. “Some people are spared. And God opens the gates to heaven, letting them in” He finally looked up, his hands wrapping around her left hand. “There’s hope, even in the end.”

“I prefer this version” She leaned in, the air between them thickening. “With hope and all that.”

“Hope is very powerful” He nodded, kissing her palm. “Everyone needs some comfort in their life, after all.”

She kissed him, her right hand grabbing his shoulder. He let go of her hand and put his hands on either side of her head, his thumbs brushing against her cheeks.

“I love you” He whispered into her mouth before deepening the kiss. For whole three seconds, Violette was in a bliss of unawareness before her eyes widened.

They said it only a few times, all of them far apart from each other. It wasn’t that she believed he has fallen out of love with her, it was just that she rarely heard anyone say that to her.

She pulled away, her hands running through his hair.

“I-I love you too” Her throat still closed up whenever she was about to say it. “So much.”

They went back to kissing and Kurt delicately pushed her down onto the mattress, his hands traveling down to her hips. She wanted so much but pushed it down, trying not to dwell on the warmth his hands spread across her body. Her hands skimmed over his neck and down to his pecks, just so she could lightly push him away if she felt as if they were slowly crossing the line he set there. She didn’t want to come off as the one pressuring him into anything _once again._

Kurt pulled away for a second, his eyes fixed on hers. She felt herself shiver under his gaze, suddenly feeling incredibly exposed and vulnerable.

‘ _He could tear you apart with only a few words’_ She heard a voice in the back of her head. ‘ _He’s almost everything that you have and it’s scary.’_

But she didn’t feel scared, quite the contrary. She was laying there, her heart on her sleeve, bared in front of him and she felt so much relief out of nowhere.

‘ _Maybe it’s a good thing.’_

“Violette” He smiled, his thumbs drawing circles on her hipbone and she felt heat buildup inside her. “I trust you.”

He started to kiss her with more fervor and the meaning of his words finally got to her.

‘ _Oh. OH.’_

She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body up against his.

“Violette!” Jamie barged in through the door. Kurt jumped, pushing himself back and landing at the foot of her bed. “And Kurt? Nevermind, come on!”

They looked at each other and followed him out, running down the stairs to the dining room. Amara was sitting in one of the chairs with John kneeling in front of her, holding her hands in his. Sam was standing behind her, his hands grabbing the back of her chair so hard his knuckles turned white. Jamie walked over to him, putting his hand on Sam’s shoulder.

“What happened?” Violette walked up to Roberto, who watched Bobby and Ray both pace around the room.

“They were attacked” He pointed towards Sam and Amara. “Nothing major happened, just a few dickheads from Jean and Scott’s high school class. They were hell-bent on beating the crap out of Sam, but then Evan appeared.”

“You mean Evan is back on the streets?” She looked at Amara who was silently shivering. John was saying some meaningless words meant to comfort her, but the girl seemed to be in a different world. “Amara doesn’t look like it was nothing major.”

“They directed some… Words towards her once she threatened their car” Violette felt Kurt place his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it. Roberto bit his lip, looking at the girl. “She’s brave but sometimes reckless and that could end very badly.”

“That’s why Bobby and Ray are pacing” Kurt stared at the two boys, his face solemn.

“The prof told them not to do anything about it, but you know them” Roberto sighed. “Bobby’s ready to tear them apart himself.”

“I’d be all for that” Sometimes she hated that as the X-Men, they had to look at the bigger picture. The Brotherhood with their petty fights and impulsive actions at least gave her the okay to be reckless and not think about consequences. Kurt’s hand on her shoulder kept her grounded though, as he sent her a knowing look. “I won’t do anything, Jesus.”

* * *

 

“The one who did this is called Spyke, he lives in the sewers with a bunch of other crazed mutant low-lives. Bayville is just not safe anymore!” Lance tightened his grip on the remote control as he saw Matthews’ face on the news. “We’ve gotta stand up and defend ourselves!”

Todd was unaware of everything and just moved his piece around the board, groaning when he stopped on Fred’s property.

“’S not fair, yo” Todd had to mortgage one of his properties to pay him off. “I hate Monopoly.”

“Everyone hates it” Although Pietro tried to seem uninterested in the story, Lance could see him peer at the TV every few seconds.

“When do you think the cops will get off our lawn?” Fred sighed, glancing out the window at the cop cars and people shouting about how they were at fault for everything bad that ever happened to mankind.

“When the Apocalypse is down” Wanda walked out of the kitchen with a cup of tea in her hands. She delicately moved one of her fingers and Todd’s properties glowed a light blue for a second. “Anything other on Spyke?”

“Why are you suddenly interested in that ex-X-Geek” Pietro narrowed his eyes, staring at her.

“To be honest” She rubbed one of her temples, wincing. “I don’t know.”

Pietro turned rigid and dropped it, taking the dice and pushing them into Lance’s hands.

“Your turn.”

* * *

 

Evan stared down at his hands, for the first time in months the bones inside them not hurting at all. His gaze traveled to the boy kneeling next to him and he quickly ran over, not used to feeling so light.

“Are you okay?” Evan choked out, putting his hand delicately on the boy’s shoulder.

“Dorian!” His mother ran over, hugging the boy to her chest, a stream of tears running down her cheeks. “Sweetie, are you alright?”

“The headaches are gone, mom” Dorian mumbled into her shoulder.

Evan watched as Scott took off his visor and stared at them with his eyes exposed for the first time since Asteroid M. The whole city was dark or at least the whole center. Evan looked around the block, the darkness reminding him of the sewers.

‘ _So little light.’_

He missed the sun warming up his skin, the freedom of riding down the street on his board. He raised his hand to his head, feeling his hair for the first time in weeks.

He apologized to both Dorian and his mother. She yelled at him and he wasn’t really that surprised. Not much later the lights around them went back on and Evan felt the bones inside his body expand and break out of his skin, covering the muscles on his back, arms and chest. He winced as the bones around his face grew out and he was back in his life, ugly, covered in bone and in pain, so much pain.

‘ _You shouldn’t dream about life topside’_ He reprimanded himself as he slipped back into the sewers, the stench and darkness welcoming him back home. _‘It only brings more pain and trouble.’_

* * *

 

Rogue looked down at her hands, wondering.

‘If there’s a mutant who can stop other powers, then if I absorbed him, would I be able to…’

She shook her head, wrapping her arms back around her legs.

‘Why would you even need to touch?’ She huffed.

But who was she kidding? She could hug Kitty without any fear, hooking her chin over the girl’s shoulder without having to pray that there were no tears in the material of her sweater. She could ruffle Jamie’s hair without her gloves on during breakfast. She could shake people’s hands when they first met and maybe someday move to other things.

She could have her first kiss.

“Hello, cherie.”

She shivered but didn’t turn to face him. She never liked when people appeared out of nowhere.

“The curfew’s in ten minutes” She warned him for some reason. “Then the alarms around the grounds are turned on and you’ll get fried.”

“It’s cute how you worry about Remy” He sat down next to her, his trench coat flying around in the wind. “Don’t fret, cherie, I can take care of myself.”

“I don’t care about you” She said, but her voice sounded weak next to the sound of waves crashing against the cliff. “I might be the one who gets in trouble.”

“And we wouldn’t like that, no?” He smirked, leaning against his hand and looking over at her. “There’s something troubling you.”

Sometimes she wasn’t sure if he was even real. He seemed to know so much about her it would be more reasonable to just assume that he was an illusion. Someone to talk to, so that her delusional mind wasn’t trapped in this feelings and thoughts.

“They just found a boy who sucks in all signs of mutation and the electricity around him” She looked at Gambit and knew that it was okay to tell him this. It was widely known what her mutation meant for any relationship she got into, whether it was platonic or not. He couldn’t use that against her. “And it got me thinking about… You know, my powers.”

He moved so that he was a few inches closer to her and put his right foot on the barrier, resting his elbow on his knee. Rogue let her eyes roam over his body and she had to admit, he was attractive. He carried himself with confidence, had a toned body and handsome features, but it was his eyes that sold it to her. So different, unique.

“It pains me very much” He whispered, leaning in and brushing his gloved finger over her cheek. “To know that it troubles you. But you’re very young” He sighed, smirking. “And you’ve had your powers for only a short time, Rogue. They could evolve, or you could learn to control them even better” His eyes darted to her lips for a second, before going back to staring into hers. “Stopping them one way or another may just bring more harm than good.”

“They already did” She turned her head away, staring at the water. “The only boy I’ve touched without meaning to steal his powers was in a coma for weeks. I’ll never be able to hold anyone’s hand or ran my fingers through their hair or… Or have kids, for fuck’s sake” She punched the railing, groaning and turned back to face him. “I’ve never even kissed anyone and it seems like I’ll never be able to! I hate my-”

His lips touched hers very briefly, a flash of herself, make-up smeared all over her face and tears running down her cheeks appeared in front of her eyes, along with the feelings of comfort and desire. She felt her fingers ache with an echo of energy they could use and she blinked, her vision tinted more red for a second before it went away. She heard Gambit groan as he rubbed his temples as his muscles tensed and relaxed a few times and what exactly happened finally got to her. A flash of a different image, a footage of her walking over in ripped-up clothes and kissing him bounced around her mind and she gasped, her previous statement turning out to be a lie.

He opened his eyes and gave her a tiny smile.

“I-I guess neither of us remembered that” He chuckled weakly, before wincing. “No wonder you’re so shocked right now.”

She touched her own lips with her gloved hand, cursing Mesmero and Apocalypse for taking that away, for taking away everything she could have had in the future. Her eyes glanced back at the water for a second before looking back, a rose and another card left in place of Gambit.


	31. Interlude V: That Crazy Routine

Life seemed very boring when you looked at St. John Allerdyce’s typical day.

He’d pop into the mansion every morning, eat breakfast with them, annoy everyone during Amara’s morning training sessions and once she was back he’d chill with her, help her with homework, eat dinner with them, help Amara if it was her washing up duty and then spend some more time with her until her curfew. None of the teachers seemed to care that much as long as she did her chores and school work.

The Brotherhood seemed to think he was even crazier than they expected, as they watched him wake up every day and just drive off on his bike only to come back after nine and then disappear before three and come back exhausted around ten. Todd would joke about how he was totally whipped and surely got some all the time, Lance would roll his eyes and Pietro would give him knowing looks. Thankfully at least Wanda and Fred didn’t give him a hard time.

But it wasn’t John’s fault that Amara was incredible. She knew him better than anyone and he often didn’t even need to tell her what was going on. She’d smile at him and look at him like he was capable of anything and no one ever looked at him like that. Like he could be something more than just a crazy ginger.

They could talk for hours but they could also stay silent for ages, recognizing when one of them needed some space or quiet. She’d be there for him when words wouldn’t come and when he couldn’t meet the deadlines he set for himself or when he sent his work out, wishing that this time it would work, that he wasn’t a failure. And even if he did fail, she’d smile and tell him that it was okay, that he didn’t mean any less.

How could he possibly stay away from someone who believed in him?

So he endured the crazy routine, cherishing the time he could spend with her. Because the end of the world was looming over their heads and John would take anything he could get.

 


	32. IV: Take Me To Where You Are

Violette happily munched on her cereal, reading the back of the box. For the first time in forever, they didn’t have a morning training session on Friday and it made her incredibly happy.

“I heard the goth girl is quitting” John was playing with Amara’s hair while eating a sandwich, although the girl already told him to knock it off because she didn’t want any butter in her hair.

“W-what?” Kurt looked up from his toast, his eyes going wide.

“Yeah, Rogue isn’t really… Here, nowadays” Ray shrugged, biting his apple. “But maybe she’ll just get away for a week or something.”

“She can’t really do that, can she?” Roberto drank Ray’s orange juice, smiling when the other boy glared at him. “I mean, she’s got school and all that.”

“Maybe she’ll wait until Christmas break” Amara chimed in, tugging her hair out of John’s grasp. He just winked at her, smiling.

“Or she won’t” Bobby chuckled maniacally.

“What was that supposed to mean?” Sam stabbed him with a fork before shoveling some eggs into his mouth.

“Just that if she’s down for a road trip, I’m all for that” Bobby shrugged, drinking his juice and making a face. “God, who drinks warm juice?” He chilled his glass before elaborating. “Anyway, the two of us could go to California and I’d meet up with Jubes.”

“Holy shit, Bobby” Ray whispered into his apple, shaking his head.

“Were they, like, a thing?” Violette leaned towards Kurt, furrowing her brows.

“Nein” He stuffed his toast into his mouth. “Buf hef alfayf been aftef hef.”

“What?”

Kurt swallowed, rolling his eyes.

“He’s always been after her.”

“Oh.”

* * *

 

Rogue opened her eyes, focusing on the space right above her. She felt that she was in a moving vehicle, her wrists and ankles tied together.

‘ _I hate my life.’_

She looked around, finally spotting her captor. He was standing at the opened doors of the wagon they were in, staring smugly at the fields they were passing.

“You fucker” She pushed herself towards him, landing at his feet. “First you make me trust you, now this?” But really, what was she expecting from Magneto’s ex-henchman? “So you like to feast on the sadness of vulnerable teenage girls?”

“Oh, _cherie_ , you’ve got it all wrong” He chuckled, pulling her upright so that she was sitting.

“I’m tied up, what’s there to get wrong?!” She had to admit that going by train was good for one thing. Once she was free, she could push him under the wheels. “What do you want?”

“It’s not about what I want” He tsked, unwrapping the rope around her wrists. She went to grab his throat, but he skillfully dodged her attack, pushing one of his fingers into her side and making her squirm. “It’s about what you want. Now, hold still or I won’t be able to untie you.”

“Wait” She kept trashing around, getting one of her gloves off. “So you mean that you abducted me in an abandoned alleyway, tied me up and hopped with me onto a train without my knowledge for my own good and enjoyment” She rolled towards him, trying to touch his face but he just grabbed her wrist.

“Well, when you put it like that it does sound suspicious” He shrugged, inching her hand closer to his skin. “I can show you that I meant well if you want. But I’d prefer doing that in a more pleasurable way” His hand traveled from her wrist down her arm, resting on her neck, careful so that his exposed fingers didn’t touch her skin.

‘ _Oh, great, not only is he a kidnapper, he’s also a creep.’_

But for some reason, she put her glove back on and let him untie her ankles.

“Why are you doing this?” She rubbed her wrists, feeling them slightly burn in the places the rope cut into her skin during her trashing.

“You’re unhappy” He shrugged, grabbing his coat and pulling a deck of cards out of it. He must have covered her up with it. “You’re caged in Bayville, living among people who don’t get you and Remy’s got a solution” He started to shuffle the deck, smiling. “You play poker?”

“Sometimes” She used to play it with Ray, Roberto, Bobby, and Sam all the time, but that was before… The incident.

“I’m setting you free” He motioned towards the open door, smiling. He gave each of them five cards and put the rest of the deck down. “Helping you have fun and live a little. Isn’t that what being a teenager’s about?”

“And what, you’re not a teenager?” She took her cards, glancing at them.

“I’m twenty, _cherie_ ” He put down two cards, taking another two from the deck. “Too old to call me that.”

* * *

 

They were sitting together in the lunch room when Kurt first addressed Rogue.

Earlier that day they had run into her and Kurt was a bit... Snappy. Violette decided not to meddle and entered the school by herself, waiting near the door. When she later asked Kurt about how it went he just growled a bit, clearly not up for talking about it.

“What about her?” Violette put down her salad, frowning. “You didn’t yell at each other, did you?”

“No, no, I just kind of… Growled” He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean, I haven’t seen her at school _at all._ ”

Once Violette started to think about it, neither did she and it was very weird since she was sure they had Chemistry together.

“Did she, you know” Violette stumbled for the right words but they never came. “Run off?”

“I hope not” He glanced down at his sandwich, his grip on the table tightening.

“I’m sure she’s just taking a break” Violette put her hand on his shoulder. “take it from me, cutting class is very refreshing.”

“But you haven’t really done it at all since you’ve joined us” It accomplished what Violette was hoping for – changed the subject and put the whole Rogue issue at the back of his mind.

“Haven’t you noticed?” She chuckled, stabbing a tomato with her plastic fork. “I’m trying really hard not to get thrown out. I stopped smoking, I’m getting better grades, I even try not to be so bitchy about everything” She looked to the other side of the lunchroom smiling when she saw Jamie surrounded by the few human friends he had. “I guess I just really don’t want to part ways with you.”

Her eyes went back to Kurt as she smiled shyly. She still wasn’t used to showing or sharing too much of their relationship at school, at least not in front of that many people. She was scared that oversharing might be another reason for which they’ll be targeted.

Kurt finally smiled, his hand letting go of the table to rest on her knee, reassuring her that it was okay.

* * *

 

Although he seemed calm and collected, Rogue could see Gambit play with the ring on his finger in between their games. Her curiosity was making it hard for her to concentrate on her cards, but she felt like she wouldn’t _really_ want to know the answer. So she kept her mouth shut, trying to beat Remy at his own game.

“Why would you do something like this?” She opted for the safer questions, the answers to which she could tolerate, whatever it might be.

He lifted his gaze from the cards in his hands, taking three of them out and exchanging them. His eyes were fixed on Rogue’s, but she refused to be intimidated, staring right back.

“I guess I just want you to be happier” He said when they revealed their cards. Remy smirked, his Full House beating her Flush. He picked up the pair of Queens he had. They both looked miserable, their white faces and blue lines practically the same, although they were from different suits. “The Black Lady and Judith” He put down the cards and Rogue saw his fingers linger on the Queen of spades, caressing the scepter in her hands. “Let’s hope it doesn’t mean I’m out of luck.”

* * *

 

As soon as they arrived home, Violette sent Kurt off to the Professor while she asked around about Rogue. Just like she expected, no one has seen her at all.

“Logan’s trying to find her” Kurt ported in front of her, making her jump. “Sorry.”

“That’s okay” She pressed her hand to her chest, taking a deep breath. “She’s surely fine, Kurt” Violette wrapped her arms around his waist, her thumbs rubbing soothing circles into the small of his back. “She wouldn’t let anyone lay a finger on her. Literally.”

“You’re the worst” He chuckled, but it sounded hollow and insincere.

* * *

 

When they jumped off the train she was ready to bolt for the first phone booth she could find, but New Orleans was frustratingly lacking in that department. Or maybe Gambit just knew which paths to choose.

“There’s no need to worry, Rogue” He chuckled, sticking his hands into his coat pockets. “Remy’s going to make sure that nothing bad happens to you, quite the contrary” He leaned in, his breath tickling her face. The unmistakable stench of cigarettes made her wrinkle her nose. “I’m going to let you finally have some fun in your life.”

“Do I need to remind you that one touch from me could kill you?”

“It’s hard to forget, _cherie_ ” He took a step back, but his smile never faltered. “How about ice cream, _non_?”

She was way too predictable.

“Okay.”

* * *

 

When Logan came back the first thing he did was slam Pyro against the wall, growling.

“Where’s Gambit?” His claws were a bit too close to the Aussie's neck in Amara’s opinion.

She grabbed Wolverine’s shoulder, but Roberto pulled her towards his chest, trapping her arms along her sides. John’s eyes lit up, and she could see a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

“I’m not a babysitter, mate” Amara noticed how John’s fingers slowly crept towards his back pocket, where she knew he kept his lighter. “And Gambit isn’t really the type to leave a note, ye know?”

Logan’s hand twisted around John’s shirt even tighter as his nostrils flared. Amara was ready to burn through Roberto’s arms if necessary.

But instead of, as she feared, ripping his innards out, Logan let go of John completely, before glancing over at Violette.

“You know him best, Casper.”

Violette’s eyes widened as everyone turned their gaze towards her. Kurt squeezed the girl’s hand and Amara felt Roberto loosen his grip.

“We just basically lived in the same city” She cleared her throat.

“Just tell me. Is it possible that he took her down South?”

* * *

 

“It’s incredible” Rogue sipped her tea, smiling. “The whole city is unbelievably beautiful.”

“It is” Remy stared off into the distance, reminiscent. “It has seen my best and my worst and still welcomes me after all.”

“Why did you leave then?” It has been bothering her for the whole trip. He clearly loved the South and now that Magneto was gone, he could come back. But for some reason, he stayed in New York.

“I never chose to leave” He was cryptic again, idly playing with his fingers. She saw the ring glisten in the dim lights. Momentarily he turned to face her, his brows furrowing. “Sorry, I’m making this about me once again, _cherie_.”

She stared into his eyes and felt something turn inside her stomach.

“I want to know about it” She leaned in, running her gloved fingers across his hand. “I want to know everything about you.”

* * *

 

Violette’s leg was bouncing up and down constantly, making the whole row of additional seats in the Blackbird shake.

It was a lot of pressure. If she got this wrong, she put Rogue’s _life_ at risk. Gambit didn’t sound like that much of a psycho, but then again, she really didn’t think he was capable of abducting a teenage girl.

She prayed that she was right.

* * *

 

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Remy rested his hand on her shoulder, the warmth of his palm seeping in through the materials and setting her skin on fire.

Rogue pushed her hair back and flexed her fingers.

‘ _You can still get out of this.’_

“Yes.”

* * *

 

"She’s here for sure” Logan growled, sniffing the air. “I’m going to kill that rat.”

Kurt’s throat relaxed enough so that his breath could regain its usual pace. She was close.

“Seems like I was right” Violette walked over to him, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. “For once.”

“It sure does” She shoved him, but he could see a smile appear on her face.

“Come on, let’s find your sister.”

* * *

 

Rogue didn’t need finding after all. She seemed perfectly fine except for some minor bruises and brooding. When they landed back in New York, Kurt finally let go of her hand and kissed her temple through her hair, letting her go back to her room. He motioned for Violette to follow him and started to walk towards his room, a million questions on his mind. How much did his sister really want them to take her away from Gambit? Was she really kidnapped or did she jump into the train with him? Was she going to try to find him? Why did this whole ordeal make him think about his relationship with Violette?

Violette caught up to him and interlaced their fingers together, her thumb rubbing over his knuckles. He didn’t want to look down and see how awkwardly their hands looked together. He knew that if they stayed like this for too long, her fingers would start to cramp up. She wouldn’t say a word about it though, too concerned about his wellbeing.

He hated it. He hated that she never said a word about what made her uncomfortable. That she always stayed silent about all of their issues. That she just stood there, a passive observer instead of an actual participant in their relationship. Always careful, letting him set the pace for everything.

Was she doing the exact same thing that Rogue did? Blindly following a guy around? Was he just like Gambit, taking advantage of her while giving nothing back? Was that how their relationship worked? Was it really that one-sided?

He pulled her into his room and closed the door behind them. She didn’t move an inch, her thumb still caressing his hand to give him some comfort. Of course, that was the only thing she thought about.

“Stop” He sighed, letting go.

“Do you want me to-”

“What do _you_ want?” Kurt turned around the back of his head hitting the door with a light thud as he rested against it. “ _Really_?”

He watched her throat as she swallowed.

“I want you” She took a step closer, brushing her hair back. “In any way _you’re_ willing to give me.”

He felt his chest cave in.

“Violette” His fingers closed around the material covering his thighs. “I don’t want to dictate our relationship” He pushed himself off the door and left only a few inches between the two of them. “Besides, you already have me. All of me.”

She attacked his lips a second later, her fingers wrapping around the material of his suit. The force of the lunge pushed him back into the door as his arms found their way around her waist. He pulled her as close to his body as he dared, feeling the warmth of her skin through his clothes. Violette’s lips tasted of tomatoes and soda, and it was the most bizarre combination he ever tasted. He couldn’t remember the last time they kissed. It must have been over a week now.

He trusted her. He may have already told her that, but he finally felt it for real. He grabbed her tighter and delicately lifted her off the ground, walking over to his bed and pushing her into it with his weight. She untangled their legs and wrapped hers around his waist, pulling him even closer. He gasped into her mouth as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He felt her fingers play with his hair and he buried his face in her neck, his lips brushing against the delicate skin of her throat.

“Kurt” She whimpered, brushing her hips against his. “ _Please_.”

He ground down, his fingers slipping beneath her shirt and digging into her back. Her breath stuttered as her fingers tightened their grip on his hair. He purred.

Kurt’s eyes widened momentarily and so did Violette’s. They stared at each other for a second before she yanked his hair, eliciting another rumbling purr.

Violette kissed him with a newfound fervor, her nails scraping against the skin of his head. After a few minutes of rolling around on his bed, Kurt broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers.

“We should cool down” He delicately raised her off his body, making sure that their lower parts were no longer in contact. “Or else Logan will barge in here.”

“You’re right” She nodded, breathing heavily. She experimentally tugged his hair again, giggling when she heard it.

“Stop, it’s embarrassing” He took her hands into his, pouting.

“It’s not” Her nose brushed against his as she gave him a bright smile. “I just love to find out new things about you.”

“I love you” He brushed her hair back from her face and smiled, caressing her cheek.

“And I love you” Her words were sure and strong, a total contrast to the usual way she said it.

He lifted his head and left a delicate, short kiss on her lips.

* * *

 

Spectre took a few steps forward, keeping her head high as she stood next to her savior. People quivered in fear at their feet. She could recognize some of them, she used to call them her friends. Sunspot, Cannonball, Iceman, Magma, Berzerker. They were in an awful state, their clothes torn apart and their bodies bruised. She brushed over them, glancing at those laying motionlessly on the ground. Blob, Boom Boom, Toad, Avalanche, Quicksilver. They were once her family, she used to care for them, she wasn’t supposed to watch as they died beneath her savior’s throne. She stared behind her, two bodies pinned beneath her savior, mocking a faith she didn’t believe in. She focused on their faces. The first was covered by long, midnight blue hair, but a swift look at the rest of the mostly uncovered body confirmed that it was indeed Nightcrawler. She felt a shiver run down her spine, but she moved on to the other one, immediately recognizing Jamie’s features. She slowly walked over to him, but her savior - no – _Apocalypse_ stopped her, putting his giant hand on her shoulder.

“All is well, Spectre” His resonating voice rang in her ears, making her head hurt. “All is well.”

Violette sat up in her bed, breathing heavily. She didn’t realize she was screaming until a very panicked Kitty phased in through her door, momentarily followed by Kurt porting on her bed. She lunged at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and burrowing her face into his shoulder.

* * *

 

Logan burst into the room, his claws already out. He sniffed and looked around, but there was nothing except for the unmistakable stench of fear.

“What happened?” He retracted his claws and started to massage his knuckles, wincing.

“Must have been a nightmare” Kitty rubbed her hands over her eyes, yawning.

“Get back to bed, Half-Pint” Logan watched as Kurt hugged her closer to his body, rocking slowly back and forth. “This might take a while.”

He watched as Kitty trotted off into her room before walking over to the couple on the bed. He delicately pried Violette’s hands off Kurt.

“It’s okay, Casper” He lifted her chin up so that he could look at her face clearly. “It was all a dream. Do you want to talk about it?”

Her eyes jumped from him to Kurt and back before she slowly shook her head.

“Will you be alright?” He prayed that she said yes. He knew he wouldn’t give her too much comfort and he couldn’t possibly give the okay for Kurt to stay the night in her room.

“I-I just…” Her hands shook terribly. “I need to see Jamie.”

Logan didn’t feel half as guilty about waking up her younger brother at four in the morning as he should. He guided the confused teen to her room and escorted Kurt back, knowing that it would be better just to leave the two completely alone.

* * *

 

“There’s no way I’m driving this shit” Violette crossed her arms over her chest.

“Oh come on” Kurt tugged on her hand, giving her his best pouty face. “We’re gonna have so much fun, liebchen!”

“Nuh uh” She wouldn’t fall for that. She hated quads and didn’t feel confident on a dirt bike. “Take Rogue with you. She loves that kind of stuff.”

“How do you know?”

“Seriously? Gambit has a bike. She’s into bikes in general. She’ll be delighted” She brushed his hair back with a smile. “Unlike me. So, take your sister out for a fun ride and I’ll just hang out with Jamie, okay?”

“You sure?”

“Positive” She kissed him, before putting his helmet on. “Be careful, alright?”

“Always am” Violette rolled her eyes as he ported away.

She could hear him call his sister in the distance. She started to walk towards the sitting room, knowing that Jamie will be playing video games there.

“What’s up?” She jumped onto the couch next to him, resting her head on his lap.

“Oh shoot!” Jamie sighed as Mario fell down and a colorful and very mocking ‘ _Too bad!_ ’ appeared on the screen. “Violette!”

“Sorry” She scratched the back of her neck, chuckling nervously. “So, what are you playing?”

“Super Mario Sunshine” He sighed. “But I suck at it, so maybe I’ll just try out the new Grand Theft Auto.”

“That doesn’t really sound like a game you should be playing” She watched as Jamie got up and switched off the Gamecube to hook up the PlayStation 2.

“Well, you used to smoke” He sighed, sitting back down next to her. “There are worse things I could do at fourteen than shoot a couple of digital cops and crash some digital cars in a digital world.”

“True. Anyway, how did this game get here in the first place?”

“Scott secretly loves it.”

* * *

 

When Kitty started to freak out the next morning, Violette decided to stay out of her way and just ask Rogue about what the hell was that about.

“She hit her head pretty hard yesterday” The goth shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Still” John took a sip of juice from Amara’s glass, awarding himself a hit on the shoulder. “I had a few concussions and I never imagined myself a new friend.”

“You think she’s cray-cray?” Bobby stopped messing with Ray’s cereal and quickly hid the saltshaker behind his back when he returned to the table.

“Maybe she’s just confused” Ray took a spoonful of the cereal, but stopped midway between his mouth and the bowl. “You know, it was pretty hot outside, plus the hit, it might have messed with her perception.”

“But to this degree?” Amara rolled her eyes when Roberto fell off his chair laughing as Ray choked on his salty breakfast. “I mean, she’s convinced we all met her and trained with her.”

“I think she’s cray-cray” Roberto wiped off imaginary tears. Ray took his glass of juice and poured it over him. “Hey! You want to fight, dipshit?”

“I think _you two_ are idiots” Rogue rolled her eyes and walked out of the kitchen, Kurt slipping past her into the room.

“What’s up with her?”

“Roberto thinks Kitty’s cray-cray” Amara slapped John’s hand away from her toast. “For goodness sake, why can’t you just make yourself something to eat?”

“Cray-cray?”

“Crazy” Sam turned a page in his comic, immersed in the action displayed on the thin paper.

“I know what cray-cray means” Kurt huffed, walking over to Violette and leaving a kiss on her temple. “I was just questioning your usage of the word in that sentence.”

“Woah, that’s a smart-sounding sentence” Bobby chuckled, pouring salt over Roberto and Ray who decided that was the perfect time for a wrestling match on the floor. “You’re German, remember? You’re not supposed to build smart sounding sentences.”

“Bobby’s just jealous cause he started failing English back in kindergarten” Violette stuck her tongue out, before kissing Kurt’s cheek.

“I hate you.”

“You don’t” She chuckled, before turning to her boyfriend. “So, what are you doing today?”

“Well, I’m going to check up on Kitty, see if she’s fine, maybe talk to her about it” He walked over to the table, starting to make himself a sandwich. “After that, I’m free until about seven.”

“And what’s happening then?”

“I’m going to mass” He scratched the back of his neck nervously, putting down the bread. “Actually I was wondering if maybe you’d go with me? As moral support. I haven’t really been in a church since Christmas.”

She felt something bubble up inside her stomach. His religion was something important to him and he wanted to share it with _her_.

“Yeah, sure” She nodded, giving him a small smile.

Kurt returned it with one of his own before Kitty ran in, grabbing his wrist and yelling something about a girl in need of help, pulling him out of the kitchen.

Violette didn’t stop smiling at the sandwich they left behind.

* * *

 

It turned out that the girl Kitty imagined was actually real and in a pretty bad shape. Once she and Kurt dragged the mutant in, he took Violette’s hand and tugged her upstairs, dropping her off at her door and telling her to be ready in ten minutes. She frantically searched her wardrobe for clothes even remotely appropriate for a church, like for example jeans that didn’t have holes in them and finally opted to just run to Amara’s room, begging her for a pair.

Amara sighed and stood up from her seat on the floor, leaving behind a pouting John.

“What were you two doing?” Violette eyed the pair, feeling slightly suspicious.

“Playing with fire” Amara shrugged, before throwing her jeans at her.

“Thank you!” Violette was still suspicious but decided to drop it in favor of running back to her own room.

* * *

 

Mass consisted mostly of standing up and sitting back down at odd times. Violette wasn’t really sure what to do and when and just decided to glance at Kurt every now and then to not make a total fool out of herself. He seemed immersed in the priest’s words and she has never really seen that side of him. Perfectly focused and serious. While she felt completely out of place he seemed to be at home, more comfortable than she’s ever seen him. After the priest sent them on their way with a bunch of weird sounding words that everyone responded to in unison, she asked him about it.

“Well, it’s pretty much the same as the ones back home” Kurt shrugged, wrapping his arm around her. “Except that the priest speaks in English. But it’s the same God, we’re talking about the same Bible, the church is decorated like hundred others” He looked down at her, smiling. “Thanks for coming with me. I know it’s not really your style.”

“No problem” She wasn’t the least bit religious and they both knew it. “It’s as much a part of you as anything else and as I said before, I want to experience as much of you as I can.”

“Violette” She knew he was blushing, although the hologram didn’t really show it. “At least not on the church grounds.”

“But messing with you is so _fun_.”


	33. IV: Heroes Always Get Remembered

She loved those little moments she had with Kurt during Saturday mornings. Most of the house was still sleeping, but she was an early bird while he quit sleeping in, in order to sneak into her room. They didn’t mess around too much – none of them had the balls to do things like that with two telepaths, Mr. McCoy’s heightened senses and Wolverine – but they did make out quite a bit.

And _boy_ how she loved that. That’s why she was ready to rip Kitty’s head off when she phased in.

“Why, why, why” Violette groaned, her head hitting the pillow with a thud.

“Professor left for Egypt” Kitty was in her uniform, a smile Violette was expecting on her lips nowhere to be seen. Kurt looked at his girlfriend, biting his lip. She nodded, before turning to Shadowcat.

“We’ll be down in a sec. And I don’t care that I’m in New Mutants – I’m not going to just sit here knowing that” Kitty sent her a smile and phased out. Violette sighed and kissed Kurt one last time. “So, I’m gonna change.”

“I’m out” He chuckled, porting to his room. She not only stopped coughing but came to love the smoke he left behind. It made her remember the Dinosaur Dance as she and Kitty started to call it.

She got up and changed into her suit, thinking about what the whole situation meant – if whatever happened to Magneto was about to happen to the Professor, _then_ … She couldn’t even imagine what they’d do without Professor X.

She heard a knock on her door and opened it, revealing a smiling Kurt already in his gear. Violette wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his fur. She felt the rush of teleportation get to her head when they appeared inside Cerebro.

“Finally” Kitty’s teasing smile lit up her face for a second before she got serious again.

Jean summed up the situation for them, while they waited for the Professor and Storm to connect with Cerebro on board, ignoring Summers’ sour face when he saw Violette joining them.

Violette watched Prof’s interaction with Apocalypse in silence, up until Storm got involved.

“No” She started to shake her head, gripping Kurt’s hand. “No, no, no.”

All of their nightmares came true when Apocalypse attacked both of the mutants. Jean ran out in tears, Scott following her out. Kitty was rubbing her eyes furiously, while Rogue silently glared at the floor.

They scattered around the mansion, swearing not to tell others about what was going on. Violette found herself in the kitchen, staring at a cup of tea she held in her hands.

Although no one said anything, they all knew it – they were going to fight, probably to death. They were going to try and stop him, no matter what it cost them.

She hated that. She hated that instead of sitting in front of the TV or something, she was preparing to fight for the future of the whole mankind. That instead of worrying about her homework, she was worried about the lives of her teammates.

She spent maybe half an hour in solitude before Kitty phased through the ceiling.

“I was looking for you everywhere” She grabbed her wrist and tugged her towards the hallway. Violette left her cup on the table. “A SHIELD helicopter just landed in our backyard.”

They met the rest at the elevator doors and rode down. They found Nick Fury, Wolverine, and Hank watching the live feed of the pyramids.

It seemed that sentinels were doing a good job of distracting Apocalypse while the rest were trying to destroy the shields. When Apocalypse got rid of them, he called out his ‘horseman’, whatever that meant.

Everyone was shocked to see Magneto, Storm, Mystique and the Professor come out of the Sphinx, covered in bright blue symbols similar to those of Apocalypse. Violette wrapped her arms around Kurt, knowing it was hard for him to see his mother alive but controlled by the guy who threatened to destroy ninety percent of the world’s population.

“Just like in Bible” She heard Kurt mutter into her hair. “ _Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth._ ” She could hear his voice echoing in her head when the rest gasped, watching the Horseman completely destroy the sentinels.

‘ _Wait, that was English.’_

“You memorized the Bible in _English_?”

“I started to read the Revelation of Saint John after Apocalypse appeared” He kissed her forehead. “Turns out that if you read something all the time for a couple of months it gets stuck in your head.”

“I’m out of options. Except one” Fury turned towards them, sighing. “You guys.”

“I’m way ahead of ya” Wolverine walked over to the monitor, gesturing. “We need four teams. One at each dome and one at the Sphinx. We absolutely must gain control of these locations. Shadowcat, Spectre, you take the Brotherhood” The girls both nodded and Kitty grabbed Violette’s hand, phasing them through the wall and into the hallway.

“You think they’ll listen?” Kitty sighed, letting the older girl wrap her hands around her waist.

“I seriously doubt it” Answered Violette, raising them off the ground.

* * *

 

Kitty was light enough to not make flying too difficult and the Boarding House wasn’t really far away. They traveled in a straight line, Kitty phasing the both of them through any obstacle they came upon. Violette landed and they walked towards the door in silence. Violette raised her hand and slammed it onto the door a couple of times until Lance opened it forcefully.

“What?” He leaned against the doorway, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Everything failed” Violette looked straight into his eyes. “Turns out Mystique and Magneto aren’t dead – they’re under Apocalypse’s control and guarding the pyramids.”

“We’re forming four teams” Kitty took over. “We need your help fighting Magneto in Mexico, or Apocalypse will turn the whole world into mutants.”

“So?”

“Only a tenth of the world population might survive this” Violette licked her lips. “If they’re lucky.”

“Forget it” He took a step back to slam the door shut.

“Come on, Lance” Kitty pleaded, her voice soft. Lance tensed. “At least ask the others.”

“Hey!” He yelled over his shoulder. “You guys feel like going to Mexico and fighting Magneto?” They were met with silence. “Forget it.”

He was about to shut the door when Kitty put her foot in.

“Are you serious?” She leaned her weight against the door, preventing him from shutting it. “After everything we just told you?”

“Look” Lance sighed, running a hand over his face. “If Magneto couldn’t stop this guy, what chance do _we_ have?”

“None if we don’t _try_ ” Violette came into the house, putting her hand on the door. “Lance, I know you guys better than any other X-Men. You are _powerful_ , all of you, and if we combine-”

“I said, forget it!” He closed the door, frowning.

They stared at the door, blinking.

“Well, that went well” Violette sighed, brushing her hair out of her face. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah” Kitty ran a hand over her face, clearly disappointed.

They turned around and walked down the stairs, ready to take off when the door opened. They smiled at Wanda, as she made her way over to them.

“So, we can’t really fly now” Violette said. “But we’re in no hurry.”

* * *

 

Wanda jumped when she heard a knock. She quickly dropped her head to her knees, yelling for the person to come in. It was weird that she’s been given a room for the few hours before they were supposed to take off, but she accepted it with a soft thank you.

The door creaked open and Evan walked in, shutting it behind himself.

“Hi” His voice was even deeper than when she’s last heard it, back when she first joined the Brotherhood. She was so confused and angry back then that she didn’t even recognize him at first. Now he was even more different from the boy she remembered – bigger, more muscular, less happy.

“Hi” She felt herself shrink under his scrutinizing gaze.

“I felt like I needed to see you” He sat next to her on the bed, seeming even bigger up close. “Hell, I still feel like I should go see Pietro for some reason” She stayed silent, not knowing what to say to him. They were all inseparable years before, but now he couldn’t be more of a stranger to her. “I never knew, you know. Why you suddenly disappeared. Then Pietro turned into a massive asshole and I guess I followed suit. Things just kind of fell apart without you there to keep us both at bay” He sighed, resting his elbows on his knees. The bone covering his back caught light and for a split second, she was mesmerized by the slick look of it. She tried to clear her head. Since Todd rescued her she’s been having a hard time staying focused. “I’m sorry. For not pushing him enough to tell me and for not being there when you got out and for hurting him, even more, when he needed me the most” He looked at her, his eyes warm and open, contrasting harshly with the frown on his face. “Do you think you can forgive me? Can _he_ forgive me?”

“I forgive you” She pushed her legs up, resting her chin on her knees. She ignored the voices in the back of her mind, telling her to throw an unneeded fit. “I don’t know about him but I forgive you.”

Evan stood up, before turning towards her and wrapping his arms around her body. She froze, her mind clouding over with panic. He immediately let go.

“I’m sorry” He mumbled. “I’m so sorry. I just… Thank you.”

He walked out, delicately closing the door. Wanda went back to studying her own hands, trying to calm herself.

* * *

 

Violette was counting down every minute to the takeoff, getting more and more anxious. They were really doing it – they were going to take on Apocalypse. She knew she should be more confident, but she had this nagging thought in the back of her head that insisted that some of them won’t come back from this mission. The fact that none of the Brotherhood boys showed up wasn’t helping.

She knew they had their hearts in the right place – or at least near it. She _knew_ it.

The upside was that Gambit, Colossus, Angel, Evan, and Alex all came to help them.

Wolverine divined them into teams. She was half mad half relieved when he said he was sending Jamie to Egypt. She knew that with Tabby, Amara, John, Piotr, and Jean nothing bad would happen to him, but she wanted him near her. She was in team Mexico, along with Kitty, Bobby, Roberto, and Wanda.

Her team’s flight was scheduled to leave last, seeing as their destination was the closest to New York.

Kurt and Jamie’s teams were leaving at the same time, seeing as they both went to Egypt. She said bye to team China, but none of the men were really close to her, except Ray. She wished him good luck and sent him off with a smile, while he did the same to her, both hoping to lift the other’s mood up.

Half an hour later, most of which she spent in front of the stairs, Kurt went down. There was a little crowd there, mostly of people who were also leaving.

She stood up, swallowing the bile rising in her throat. This was it. They might never see each other again.

He was silent. His yellow eyes looked right through her – he knew she would start crying if it wasn’t for the fact that Jamie could run down at any given moment.

“I don’t want you to go” She said, looking down. It wasn’t a command. She was just stating the fact, her voice breaking, showing that she knew there was no way he wouldn’t go.

“I know” He nodded, taking a step closer to her. “I don’t want you there either.”

They were so close she could feel the heat radiating off him, could smell his cologne and fur. She had to say it.

“ _Je t’aime_ ” She choked out, throwing her arms around his neck and crashing into him. “ _Je t’aime._ _God, Kurt, I don’t want you to leave._ _Je t’aime_.”

He burrowed his face into her hair, holding her tightly against his body. They were both shaking.

“ _Ich liebe Dich_ ” She sniffed, tightening her grip. “ _Don’t forget that_.”

She almost let it all go. Almost let the tears flow freely, not caring that anyone could see her.

Almost, because Jamie ran down the stairs immediately after that.

She let go of Kurt and sniffed one last time, turning to her brother. He wrapped his hands around her middle and hugged her. She brushed her hand through his hair, biting her lip.

“Kick his butt, okay?” She smiled, but anyone could see it was forced beyond belief. “And don’t get hurt.”

“You too, okay?” Jamie smiled back, taking a step back. “I finally got it.”

“What?”

“The thing you said to me that night” He brushed her hair off of her face. “It wasn’t ‘Hide in the closet’. It was ‘I love you’.”

“Yeah, I do love you, _frèrot_ ” She messed up his hair, her smile turning a bit more sincere.

“Oh, I knew that” He smirked mischievously. “I also know you’ll never love me quite the same way you love Kurt over there.”

Her eyes widened.

“You little-” She shook her head, chuckling. “Stay out of my relationships, okay?”

“Okay” His smile disappeared. “I-I just sometimes wish mom was still here you know? So I could do this for her too.”

“I know what you mean” She took his hands in hers. “It’s nice to save humanity and all, but it’s a lot harder when you don’t have anything that links you to it” She could hear Wolverine call them onboard. “Still, it’s a good thing to do. Stay safe. If anything goes wrong, hide behind Pyro or Colossus.”

“See you after this” He nodded, running to his jet.

Violette looked back at Kurt, smiling sadly.

“If you don’t come back, I’ll kill you.”

He chuckled.

“Then I better come back. Wouldn’t want you to have me on your conscience.”

He ported to the jet.

She wiped away her tears and went upstairs to change into her uniform.

* * *

 

The weight of the situation crushed Amara just as they passed the Atlantic.

‘ _We could all die.’_

She looked at Colossus who was looking at a small picture, his face not showing any emotion, but the tear that escaped his eye was a dead giveaway.

‘ _He knows that_.’

Tabitha was sitting between him and Jamie, looking out the window as Multiple slept on her shoulder. Amara remembered how before Jamie went to sleep, he was silent, just staring at the floor, not moving a muscle.

‘ _They know that._ ’

She turned to John. His orange hair looked like fire under the last rays of the setting sun. He didn’t let go of her hand since they got on board, squeezing it tightly every once in a while, his other hand playing with his lighter. He seldom talked, which was unusual on its own - Amara was used to him never shutting up, even if no one was listening – but when he did, it was to say that he was sorry.

She never asked him what he was sorry for. Maybe he was sorry for keeping their relationship from becoming physical in any way, or maybe for not letting her go for so long. After all, she spent the last nine months trying to stay as close to him as possible, wishing for a romance of sorts, but he was strict when it came to that and the worst was the fact that she knew it came from him, not from the fear of Wolverine or getting kicked out of the Institute.

When they finally landed, John leaned over to her and kissed her forehead, before putting on his goggles.

‘ _Even he knows that.’_

* * *

 

There were no more teary goodbyes – everyone was already gone when they boarded their jet. They sat down in silence – Wanda and Kitty staring out the windows, Bobby playing with ice and Roberto digging through his pockets, finally taking out a golden chain with a cross attached to it. He brought the cross to his lips and started to whisper in Portuguese.

“What are you doing, man?” Bobby looked up, cocking his head to the side.

Roberto opened his eyes and sighed.

“Praying” He answered, shrugging.

“What are you doing it for?” Bobby raised his eyebrow. Roberto swallowed, suddenly shy and uncomfortable.

“I think, that whichever God there is or isn’t, it’s still a chance of help” Violette cleared her throat, her voice still raspy from her goodbye with Kurt and Jamie. “And right now, we need plenty of it.”

Roberto went back to praying, while she contemplated what would happen if they lost – would it only mean distinction of humans, or because of the fact that they tried to stop him, Apocalypse would punish them. She wasn’t ready to lose this fight and then lose Kurt and Jamie too.

* * *

 

Pietro stared at the little piece of paper in his hand, swallowing down his tears. It was quite unusual for him, the whole crying thing. He never bothered with it, at least not after Magneto gave Wanda away. It seemed pointless back then and even more right now.

If they helped the X-geeks then yeah, he might not come back and his life wasn’t something he could put in as much danger as before. He had other people to think about, but… What if the X-geeks failed without them there? He would be back to square one, just much more damaged.

‘ _Fuck it. Even Wanda went off to save the Earth, you cowardly moron.’_

He got up and ran to the living room, showing the paper into Lance’s hands.

“What is that?”

“What does it look like?”

Lance looked down at it, then back at Pietro.

“Go catch Toad, I’ll get Freddy.”

* * *

 

They landed in Mexico at the same time as the others touched down in China and Egypt. She could hear Wolvie in her communicator, encouraging them to fight till they dropped.

Violette knew that that was exactly what she was going to do. She knew that she wasted too much of her life being a coward – running away and letting herself be pushed around by Mystique for years – now was the time to step up to the challenge that laid ahead of her.

She turned invisible and flew out, examining the surrounding area. The fact that she couldn’t see Magneto was unnerving. She flew back, reporting to Shadowcat – who was their leader at the moment.

“Okay, let’s go.”

She considered turning into her energy self, but instead just went invisible. Whenever she used that power she quickly got tired and who knew how long they were going to fight Magneto.

They cautiously made their way out, Magneto still nowhere to be seen.

“Where is he?” Iceman looked around.

As if those were the words Magneto was waiting for, the junk that previously was a sentinel started to move around and reattach itself. The robot was a bit damaged, the laser not working at all, but it still swung its limbs around. Sunspot attacked it, while Scarlet Witch just froze.

“Wanda, you have to forget that he’s your father” She heard Kitty tell the girl before she tuned them out.

She turned visible, deciding to not waste any energy she might need and started to fire at the robot, chucking off smaller parts of its armor. Scarlet Witch must have snapped out of it, because something blocked Magneto’s power over it. Violette used it to her advantage and flew over to the man, ready to throw a mean right hook at his jaw. He must have found a way to get out of Wanda’s control and used a sheet of metal as a shield, before throwing it at her. Violette fell to the ground and groaned, feeling a sharp pain in her arm. She pushed the metal off of her body and got up, squeezing the bleeding shoulder.

“Fuck” She cursed, moving it around to determinate whether or not it was dislocated or broken. Thank god, it was only a minor cut.

Kitty appeared next to her, a frown on her face.

“Okay, Bobby and Roberto are going to distract him” She nodded her head towards Magneto. “Come on, we have to destroy the base.”

Violette nodded, grabbing Kitty, who phased them through the ground and right under the pyramid. Spectre started to blast at the base, hoping to at least scratch it. She felt another piece of metal fly at her, this one sending both of them tumbling onto the ground, making her black out.


	34. IV: But You Know Legends Never Die

She felt someone shake her shoulder.

“Come on, Violette, it’s our chance.”

She blinked a couple of times, wincing at the bright sun. Wanda leaned over her and cast a small shadow on her face. Magneto was nowhere to be seen.

They slowly got up and walked to the base, blasting the light that came out of it. It was getting thinner and thinner when Magneto materialized out of nowhere and interrupted them. She found herself under what looked like a giant robot hand, while Wanda was about to get squished by a bunch of junk. Spectre tried to raise the thing off her, grunting.

“Need a hand?”

She looked up, smiling at Freddy. He smiled back and raised the hand with ease.

“I knew you’d come” She got up, rubbing her still bleeding shoulder. “But I have no idea how you did it.”

“Stole a jet, got lost ‘n’ we still managed t’ get right on time, yo” Todd smirked, leaping towards them.

“Kitty!” Lance ran over to the girl, clearly worried.

“Damn, yo” Todd rolled his eyes. “Guy’s whipped, I tell ya.”

She really loved her boys. The fact that they still tried to stay positive was something she envied.

“Avalanche, trash him!” Pietro ran over with Wanda in his arms.

“Babycakes!” Todd smiled brightly. “I’ll take ya if ya need carrying, yo.”

He reached over to wrap his arms around her, but she just blasted him away.

Spectre forgot how fast paced the Brotherhood really was. While some of them bickered, the others worked to get shit done, so you could never really take in everything that was going on. Magneto sent the jet boys stole at them while Lance started to create small earthquakes. Fred caught the plane, sliding on the shaking ground, but managing to save them from a horrible death. Trees and earth caved in on Magneto, covering him.

She jogged over to Bobby and Roberto, quickly checking them over. She felt Bobby’s head and winced. His normally cold skin was getting hotter.

“Freddy!” She waved the boy over. “Can you move him under a tree or something? He needs to cool down a bit.”

Blob nodded and raised the boy off the ground, laying him down under one of the trees few feet from them.

She got up, knowing that the sun was only helping Roberto recover.

“And where is _your_ boy-toy?” Spectre felt a light breeze mess up her hair. The air suddenly got heavier and dark clouds covered the sky.

“Um, that’s not good.”

“He can’t be down, yo” Toad bounced towards the place where Avalanche buried Magneto.

The tail of the jet boys stole started to spin towards them with an unholy speed.

“You just _had_ to say that” Quicksilver groaned while running out of the way.

The tail swept the rocks off of Magneto, who rose to the skies, taking the sentinels with him.

“Couldn’t help m’self, dawg.”

The shot of blue energy emerging from the pyramid disappeared, and Magneto hit the ground, out cold.

“Hey, we won!” Todd scratched his head. “But, how.”

Violette turned back towards Pietro, smiling.

“Seeing as your father probably won’t be up for a while… Don’t you think it’s funny how things worked out?”

“No, please, not you, don’t you dare go soft on me-”

“We almost had a thing! And now I’ve been dating the son of the woman I hate for nine months!”

“You’re counting?”

“Course I am” She smiled. “He’s a good thing, Pietro.”

“Bet that’s what you’re telling yourself when you have to take the fur out of your-”

“Just like Tabby. A good thing. Too bad you can’t see a good thing when it hits you in the face.”

“Oi, that’s not true!”

“And remember Crystal back in Sophomore year? Man, was she a good thing.”

Pietro froze.

“Oh no. Come on, tell me.”

“I got a letter.”

“From Crystal? Didn’t she move to Norway or something?”

“Yeah, she did. Turns out she’s been on chemo for a few months now. Lungs, then skin, finally attacked her bones in June. She’s not… They don’t think she’ll last until the end of the year.”

Violette tried to say something but her words got stuck in her throat.

“Why…”

“She wrote she wouldn’t bother me, you see, if it wasn’t for _her_ ” He wasn’t talking about Crystal anymore. “She can’t be left all alone out there, so she asked me if I’d be okay with taking her in.”

“Who’s _she_?” She choked out the words, wetting her lips. She had a feeling, but ‘ _it’s not right. It wouldn’t be right.’_

“Luna” There was a shadow of a smile on Pietro’s face now. He reached inside his suit, taking out a small piece of paper. “Her name is Luna.”

He passed it to her. A picture of a small, laughing, half a year old baby girl. She wouldn’t believe it, if not for her blue – with just a hint of silver - eyes. The math was adding up and to be honest, she wasn’t really that surprised – with Pietro it must have happened at least this one time. And here it was – a small, living, breathing proof of his idiocy.

She gave the picture back, noticing the look on Pietro’s face. A proud, new daddy. And she shouldn’t smile back or encourage him because he was seventeen, he didn’t know shit about kids, but she knew how life treated him. How unfair it was to him when he was just a child. No, when she looked at him now, she didn’t see the overly confident and self-absorbed kid she met all those years ago. No, now she saw a young man, battered and scarred beyond belief, who finally got a little light in his life. And she didn’t have the heart to burst his bubble.

When Wolverine finally told them they did it, she was talking with Todd about how were things going. When she heard that the total of casualties was zero, she felt as if she could finally breathe. It was over. It was all over.

She wanted to run into the nearest working vehicle and get to the institute, wait for Kurt and Jamie to get back from Egypt and never let them out of her sight again. Nothing major happened, no one got fatally injured, but she still came into this thinking some of the people she saw every day might not come back. And that wasn’t something comforting words over a communicator could erase.

Pietro had a child. They were all alive. Pietro had a child. They were going to school next week, after all of their minor injuries healed and they were all emotionally stable. Pietro had a _child_.

It actually shook her to the core, so she did the only thing she could.

When they all sat safely in the jet, she turned to Lance.

“Do you know?”

He always knew what she was talking about.

“Yeah.”

Kitty chose to pretend she couldn’t hear a thing.

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.”

When they touched down in Bayville Pietro raced to the Institute to use the phone, leaving Wanda alone with their father. Violette shot Bobby a glare before he could make another one of his smartass comments.

“I think we’re gonna be alright” Lance squeezed her shoulder with a smile, before carrying Kitty to the Institute. The girl loudly protested, but they all knew it was only for show. Violette tried to ignore the way her heart ached for Kurt.

* * *

 

Waiting for Kurt and Jamie to get back was even worse than waiting for them to take off. Violette sat in the Cerebro along with Bobby, both of them staring nervously at the screen showcasing the flights of all three jets. Her leader was worried about the rest of their team while she kept her eyes on the two dots marked as ‘Egypt 1’ and ‘Egypt 2’. When both of the dots were nearing the coast, she shot out of the room, promising Bobby that she’ll send Amara and Sam to him as soon as she’ll get to them.

She stood at the back door of the mansion when they landed. As soon as the doors of the first jet opened, a swarm of Jamies ran towards her, hugging her. She laughed, yelling to Amara that Bobby was waiting for her. But before she could say the same to Sam, her mouth snapped shut.

Scott and Wolverine were helping Kurt out of the jet. _Kurt_ had to be helped to get out of a fucking _jet_. A mutant with the power of teleportation.

Knowing that Jamie was perfectly fine she let go of him, kissing him on the forehead and telling him to run after Amara. When he reabsorbed all of his dupes and got out of her sight, she rushed over to her boyfriend.

“Open fracture, the idiot didn’t say anything until his adrenaline went down” Logan groaned, a cigarette held in his mouth. Violette tried not to breathe, she was still quitting. “We gave him enough morphine to put down a horse but we can’t do shit until Hank comes back.”

Kurt did look like he was almost completely out of it and Violette could see that his weight added to Scott’s pain. She quickly took over, noticing that the older boy immediately grabbed his right arm, wincing. She could see Sam carrying Rogue out of the jet.

“What happened to her?”

“Too much too quickly” She had to admit, Kurt weighted a ton. “Stripes went form adrenaline rush to limp the second she sat down.”

The moment they stepped into the mansion they were noticed by Colossus, who ran over and took Kurt from them. Logan made sure none of the younger mutants were around and then as if it was nothing took a hold of his arm. Violette heard an awful crack and a groan. Her eyes widened.

“It was dislocated, kid.”

She nodded, steering Piotr to the infirmary. She asked him to put Kurt down on one of the beds they prepared in case something like this would happen and sat down on a chair right next to it.

Piotr quietly walked out of the room, leaving the two of them alone. Violette didn’t dare look down at Kurt’s leg, knowing it would only make her panic.

“H-hi” He groaned out, a lazy smile on his face. “You’re pretty.”

“And you’re turning seventeen in a few hours” She sighed, taking his hand. “So, you know, you need to be on top of your game tomorrow.”

“Seventeenth birthdays aren’t even that important” He raised his hand and pocked her nose with his finger. “Remember?”

“You little shit” She chuckled, kissing his palm. “Go back to sleep and don’t turn my words against me ever again, alright?”

“Alright” He yawned, closing his eyes.

* * *

 

Remy waited for her to wake up in front of her bedroom door. It was infuriating to not be able to come in, but Wolverine didn’t trust him at all and it wasn’t really the right moment to fight with the man.

When the door finally opened he immediately looked up from his cards, a bright smile on his face.

“Are you okay, _cherie_?”

She wasn’t nearly as happy to see him.

“ _Don’t_. Don’t call me that.”

He knew what he did a month before was unspeakable. That he took advantage of her fragile emotional state and the mutual attraction between them. But it still didn’t change the fact that he wanted her. She was intriguing and he wanted to know as much about her as he could. He knew it meant playing with fire, but he was ready to get burned. Multiple times.

“But I will, _cherie_.”

* * *

 

When Mr. McCoy arrived, she was sitting still next to Kurt’s bed, not even daring to breathe too hard in fear that it would somehow hurt him. He looked so fragile like this as if he was about to burst into pieces under the lightest touch. The Beast asked her to leave and she reluctantly did, knowing it would be better in a long run to work with the local doctor instead of against him.

She was surprised to see Rogue of all people sitting in the hall.

“Hi” She said, looking at Violette with worry filled eyes. “Is he okay?”

“Just tired” She sat down next to her, sighing. “Beast is taking care of his leg. And how are you feeling?”

“Like shit” Rogue looked down at her hands, playing with her thumbs. “He didn’t tell you about… Mystique?”

“He didn’t really have the chance to tell me much about anything” Violette pointedly stared at the wall. She understood Rogue’s rage at the two’s mother more than she understood Kurt’s willingness to forgive her. “So no.”

“She wanted for us to start again” The laugh that followed was hollow and bitter. “We both declined.”

“But-”

“Once he’s more stable, he’ll surely change his mind.”

They both stared at the infirmary’s door, the air between them heavy with anger.

“I hate that woman.”

“Me too.”

* * *

 

“Do you think we can maybe try again?”

Kitty looked up at him, squeezing his hand. Lance was biting his bottom lip, playing with her fingers.

She still couldn’t believe that they got to Mexico and essentially saved them. She still couldn’t believe that she was wrong about him. That he cared.

“I don’t know.”

He nodded, closing his eyes and kissing the back of her hand.

“I want to, just so you know.”

* * *

 

Amara let go of Tabitha to turn to John, a bright smile on her face.

“We’re alive.”

“That we are” He chuckled, before wrapping his arms around her waist and hugging her tightly to his chest. “So alive.”

* * *

 

He didn’t want to approach her while she was still with her father. Instead, he just looked at the two of them, feeling sick to his stomach.

‘ _That’s the man who locked her up. That’s the man who ruined her life. That’s the man who ruined_ your _life.’_

Evan shook his head, before walking back into the Institute to spend more time with his aunt. He’ll have to try to catch Wanda later.

‘ _Or maybe never.’_

* * *

 

When he got off the phone, Pietro had another thing to do.

He sought her out, finding her with her group of friends. She was laughing at something Amara – _‘It was Amara, right?’_ – said, her head thrown back and her neck exposed.

How long was it? Over half a year at least. But she was still beautiful and she was still snarky and somehow, he was still _hers._

“Tabitha?” His voice cracked. He cleared his throat, before repeating himself. “Tabitha?”

She looked up at him, her smile disappearing momentarily.

“Could we, you know, talk?”

Her eyes stared right into his and he felt his knees grow week. He missed her, _fuck,_ how he missed her. If she could only listen to him, just for a second, maybe he could-

“I don’t think we have anything to say to each other anymore.”

She turned back to Amara and he felt his heart break once again.

He walked out, wanting to find his team and just get as far away from her as he could.

* * *

 

The first thing Sam did was text Rahne.

**He’s gone.**

He wasn’t sure what time it was in Scotland, but he got an immediate response.

**I’m coming back.**

He felt a smile appear on his face, a real, totally genuine smile, maybe the first one in weeks. He ran off to find Bobby and tell him the good news.

* * *

 

The doorbell to the mansion resonated across the empty halls. Roberto stood up from the couch and waved Amara off, telling her he’ll open. She gave him a grateful smile, not wanting to let go of John’s hand at all.

He smiled, the fact that all of them somehow survived warming up his heart. He was sick of everyone moping around all the time, but he was also relieved that he’ll get to see his family during the Christmas break. He missed his sisters terribly, not mentioning his parents. Plus, he really wanted to finally meet his newest nephew.

He opened the door and his smile dropped along with his jaw.

“Hi” Jubilee put down her suitcases, smiling brightly. “You’ve got room for one more?”


	35. Interlude VI: The Strongest Of The Weakest

When Pietro told them about his trip to Norway and the reason for it, they all were sat down in the living room, Chinese takeout in their hands. Wanda had to know already cause she wasn’t the least bit shocked, just like Lance. Freddy started to talk about how they had to actually start grocery shopping and cooking. Todd stayed silent, eating his chicken.

Lance told Pietro that although they’ll help out, it was still his responsibility. Pietro thanked him, a huge, honest smile on his face.

Todd has never even seen Pietro smiling so openly, let alone sincerely thanking anybody for anything.

They had to move everything around. Pietro cleaned the house and baby proofed it, checking thrice to make sure she would be okay. Wanda moved into Violette’s old room, while Pietro took Mystique’s (technically Pyro’s), putting the girl in the room Wanda left. This meant that Todd was suddenly closer to the child than to his babycakes.

It was weird for Todd to think of her as Pietro’s daughter. After all, he always viewed the Brotherhood as a bunch of kids, and kids shouldn’t have children of their own. His parents were kids when he turned up and that didn’t end well at all.

Having a child really changed Pietro. He stopped bringing girls over and sometimes even forgot to shave, in favor of taking care of her. Todd was thankful for the fact that he was a heavy sleeper, cause otherwise, he’d be up all night, listening to her crying. Pietro, on the other hand, was always at her side, which caused him to be incredibly exhausted.

So exhausted, in fact, that Lance talked them all into letting Pietro take a night off from everyone and crash at his father’s.

She was very needy, but thankfully Wanda bossed them around since she was the only one who knew how to take care of her. Freddy cooked her dinner, Wanda changed her diapers, Lance tried to sing her to sleep for two hours.

Todd was supposed to make sure she survived the night.

He thought it wasn’t fair up until Wanda offered for them to exchange their duties. He politely declined.

He laid in his bed, trying to fall asleep as he heard another soft cry across the hallway. He groaned, sitting up and contemplating whether or not to get up. She just started to cry louder, so he jumped out of his bed and opened his door. He walked into her room and towards her crib. He was about to lean in and pick her up when she stopped, looking at him with tear-filled eyes.

“What’s goin’ on Luna, yo” He sighed, delicately pocking her stomach. She giggled, grabbing his hand. “Oh, fo’ fuck’s sake.”

He really wanted to get mad and throw a fit, but he was too exhausted for that. It must have been the fifth time she got him out of bed that night.

“Seriously, though” He watched her small fingers grab at the webbing between his own. He winced, taking her hand off. He didn’t know how Pietro could spend so much time with someone who could inflict so much pain with a smile on their face. “Is it cause ‘Tro’s not ‘round, yo?”

Pietro didn’t need much sleep, so he surely spent a lot more time with her than a typical parent, not even playing with her, but just being at her side. Todd knew the girl lost her mother and was taken by a father she never knew, but after these two months, she must have gotten used to him. Begin to love him, even. Todd knew there was some kind of weird bond between mothers and their children, so maybe Pietro took over that role and now she couldn’t understand why he wasn’t there.

He didn’t think he had that with either of his parents. His mother valued drugs over everything, and his father valued everything over him. He kind of envied Luna. Although Pietro was an ass, he loved her completely.

“Dontcha worry, dawgette” He didn’t call any girl ‘dawgette’ since Violette moved out. She said it sounded stupid when they first started to live together, so of course, he kept using it. “He’ll be back soon.”

She twisted in her crib, trying to grab him. He took her into his arms, noting that she wasn’t repulsed by him at all. He hopped into the armchair Pietro placed in front of the window. Todd knew that he was awfully bummed out about not being there when she experienced snow for the first time, something that Pietro loved, so he made sure he’d be able to take her into his arms anytime and show it to her once again.

Todd rocked Luna in his arms and told her about some unimportant shit that’s been running through his mind since he came to this house - that maybe he’s just a nuisance in the guys’ lives, that he was really the weakest of them all. Somehow in the middle of his rant, she closed her eyes and went back to sleep. Putting her to sleep was something everyone excluding Pietro struggled with, but somehow he did it by accident.

A small smile lit up his face as he stood up and put her in her crib, silently making his way back to his bedroom, hoping that maybe, just maybe, it would turn out that he had more hidden strengths than just talking a toddler’s ear off until they passed out.


	36. The End: 10 Years Later

The future was always a funny thing to Violette. When she was a child she liked to imagine how different the world would be without her in it. Or how unchanged it would seem at the first glance. Now, as an adult, she could see what she achieved and taking it out of the mix seemed almost silly. This is how the world looked like and there was no sense in looking back and saying ‘what if’.

Still, on those lonely nights when Kurt was out on a mission and she couldn’t sleep, she’d imagine how his life would turn out if she wasn’t there. Maybe he’d get with that girl Tabby scared her into asking him to a dance with, Amanda or something. Or he’d succumb to his Christian upbringing and become a priest. Or maybe a pirate with a lot of little copies of himself running around his ship.

It may seem far-fetched, but they’ve all seen some weird and remarkable things in their lives. Little miracles none of them really believed could ever happen, like Rogue gaining control of her powers or Lance and Kitty actually staying together for so long.

Violette liked to think about her brother. She wondered if Jamie would be a son of a different woman than their mother, or maybe Darlene would meet Daniel either way or if Daniel would be a completely different person, a loving father Jamie deserved. Maybe her brother would start a team of his own, or maybe he’d retire completely – now, at twenty-four he was living in New York with Laura by his side, both of them trying to start normal lives while not completely getting rid of their aliases.

She stayed behind in Bayville, mostly because she never really gave much thought to her own future. She had a High School diploma and a steady job at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters as a sex-ed teacher, one she got after Remy was fired for being Remy. She woke up every morning with her fiancé at her side and occasionally fought against the bad guys in between her classes. Her life was simple (for a life of a mutant) and enjoyable and nothing like the one she thought she was doomed to have when she started her freshman year at Bayville High.

And each time her fiancée would come home after one of her ‘what if’ nights, she would make sure to tell him about her crazy ideas and those little things that would change their whole lives. And each time she’d end her story, he would lean in to kiss her, a big smile on his face, and tell her that he’s perfectly happy with how their lives did turn out.


	37. Postlude: Avoiding The Edge

She’s been toeing around the edge for years now, never really crossing the line between sanity and the psychosis deep within her. She learned to control it not long after walking out of the asylum, to keep her powers at bay. They wanted to take control of her body, of her and do as they pleased, warping reality left and right. She had to often stop herself from doing incredibly stupid things that led to even more pain than before.

She could form her life into a perfect, movie-like sequence of incredible scenes. Make a perfect guy fall in love with her, give birth to perfect children, have a perfect house with a perfectly white picket fence. But the truth was that men were afraid of her, she was barren and living in the Boarding House. The perfect life was as far from this as it could get and toying with reality this much could be very dangerous. So instead of that, she took everything in stride, not letting herself dream too much because she knew what she could do.

And she was happy in a way. She spent her time with Luna and read books and hexed Toad a few times a day and that made her somewhat content, the routine calming her nerves and bringing something new into her life. The sense of stability.

And when out of the blue Evan Daniels showed up on her doorstep, nervous and apologetic but also ecstatic, she took her chance. Because her life could never be perfect, but it could be a happy one.


End file.
